Only God can see what is on the inside…
1 Samuel 16:7 says “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do no consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
I love this verse. God is talking about David here who scripture tells us is a man after God’s heart. The context is important—-Samuel has been sent to anoint a new king after Saul. When he sees Eliab (David’s brother), Samuel assumes he must be God's chosen one because he appears impressive. God corrects Samuel, explaining that human beings tend to judge by visible qualities such as appearance, status, or strength—but God examines a person's inner character, motives, faithfulness, and intentions. Ultimately, God chooses David, the youngest son. His brothers may have viewed him as some awkward teenager smelling like a bunch of sheep. An unlikely choice. But God saw what no one else saw—a man who was seeking the heart of God.
I was talking about this verse with my kids this morning as we were driving by some really big houses with full size basketball courts and olympic size pools. Pretty eye catching—but there is always more than meets the eye when we open the doors to a home and meet people. The world tells us what matters is on the outside—not only how we look, but also success, money and status. But God tells us here to look at peoples hearts and let that lead us to love them well, serve them and care for them in a way that gives them courage. I am so thankful for the people in my own life who encourage and build up my heart. We all need this—all of us. People with the biggest bank accounts in the world to the people who are begging on the streets. We are not here to judge hearts (that is a job only for God). We are here to love hearts.
My daughter was confused on what heart meant in this verse. Such a good question. In the Bible, the "heart" often refers to the center of a person's thoughts, desires, will, and character—not just emotions. So the verse teaches that God sees the inner person, but actions do tend to flow out from that inner place. Jeremiah 17:10 says that “God searches the heart”, and John 7:24 records Jesus saying, "Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly." There is a lot to ponder on with those verses as well.
1 Samuel 16:7 offers a simple but meaningful reminder: Let’s encourage and pray for hearts to grow in faith, love, humility, and attentiveness to God.
People may look at the outward appearance of me and assume they know what I believe because I am a yoga teacher. I have heard many comments over the years about why I should not be doing yoga. But I know in the depths of my soul that God looks at my heart and knows my deep love for Him. My heart belongs to Jesus and my purpose is to glorify Him by helping people care for their mind, body, heart and soul.
What is most important before God is the state of our hearts, not our appearance. So maybe today—we try not to spend so much time focusing on our physical appearance like what we will wear to yoga class or how old we may think we look. Maybe today we take more notice of when we are thinking about what others see or think about us. Maybe today, we notice these things and offer them to God for help in transforming our hearts to pant after Him and not after the things of this world. This verse is such an encouragement to focus and tend to the state of our hearts. I pray for my own heart and the hearts of my family to transform for greater love for ourselves, others and God. Grateful for his word.
