Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
June 5, 2023
1 Samuel 16:1-7
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.”
Good Morning; Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
I believe that a good person is waiting to be found within each human being. We are born of God, and God makes everything good. When I see evil, I wonder what happened in this person’s life that the good God made is buried so deeply that it is no longer visible. Life is hard, and evil lurks around every corner, making promises to those who have lost hope.
Like a weed that grows quickly, taking all the nutrients from the plants in our gardens, evil takes over people searching for nourishment. Evil provides quick, easy fixes to get those in need through another day, but like a patch on a worn tire, it quickly fails, and we’re left with a bigger hole than before. So evil offers a bigger solution, and before you know it, evil controls your life. For some, this cycle continues until there seems to be no way to recover.
Despite those seemingly “lost” causes, I believe there is still goodness within their being. Damaged, broken, or even unrecognizable, but it's still there. God can see goodness when our eyes only see what evil has wrought. God doesn’t give up on these lost souls. God makes all things beautiful in his time.
For us, we must learn to look past all of the earthly trappings that cloud or even obscure our view. We must use the light of Christ to peer into the very soul of the ones set before us. When God made us, he said, “It is good.”
I’ll close with the lyrics to a great Neil Diamond song, Come back again, I want you to stay next time. 'Cause sometimes the world ain't kind. When people get lost like you and me.
I just made a friend. A friend is someone you need, But now that he had to go away, I still feel the words that he might say: Turn on your Heartlight, Let it shine wherever you go, Let it make a happy glow For all the world to see.
Can you see Jesus as the friend in this song?
Loving God, We thank you for Your blessings. We are easily blinded by what we see. Open our hearts so that we see the goodness that you created. Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: In time, God values my character more than my appearance.
Turn on your heart light! Pastor Liz
Комментарии