Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
March 11, 2022
Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.” 2 “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked. 5 “Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well. 6 When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the LORD’s anointed right in front. 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.” 8 Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.” 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t picked any of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?” “There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.” 12 So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The LORD said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.
Good Morning! God sees us from the inside out.
How is your soul? Imagine if as we walked around this earth we only saw what was in each other’s hearts. We would have no distractions as to those outer trappings that often taint or mislead us. Maybe who we are on the inside would be represented by different colors. For example, love could be red, envy could be green, pride might be yellow, empathy could be blue, anxiety might be chartreuse, and the list goes on. I am imagining these menageries of color walking down the street. How would this change how we treated one another?
When God told Samuel to anoint David, the youngest and smallest of Jesse’s sons, God was reading the hearts of each one and found David to be pure of heart. David, who wasn’t even considered worthy enough to be invited to the gathering, was God’s chosen one.
We must be careful not to spend all of our time and energy “fixing” our outward appearances. Often, this time could be better spent “fixing” our hearts and souls. How can we fix our hearts and souls? By reading God’s word, sharing our lives with God in a relationship, serving God joyfully, and following wherever God leads us, we will “fix” our hearts and souls so that all will see Christ within us. We will glow with the Holy Spirit and our true beauty will shine for all to see.
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. We love to fix our appearance. Help us remember that we must start with our hearts and then our burdens will be lifted. Thank you for always loving us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: God cares about my heart more than my outward appearance.
Shine for Jesus! Pastor Liz
Comments