What's Inside?

Picture by Caprice Miller

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7

What a head turner a car like this can be!  The color, the shape, the sound of the engine – it all seems to scream “LOOK AT ME!!!!”  And we do look.  We find ourselves wondering who drives it.  We assume things about that person such as their status in life, gender, appearance, even their personality.  We may even start imagining ourselves riding with that person in the car or, better yet, driving it ourselves.  What would it be like to own and drive a car like that?  It’s one of those things in life we can look at and think “if I had THAT I would be set.  Things would be good.”  For many, it’s the status symbol that tells the world, “Look at me!  I have arrived!”

It is curious the assumptions people make.  We see something such as a car and we assume things about those behind the wheel of said car.  Or we see an attractive person and assume they must be privileged or what their personality may be or that their life has advantages that the rest of us don’t.  It’s human nature to basically judge a book by its cover.   Or in this case, by what they….drive. 

 

However, the verse above lets us know that God views us differently.  You see, the profit, Samuel, had been given the task by God to anoint the next king of Israel.  He was told to go see a man named Jesse who had a lot of sons.  However, as the sons lined up, the Lord rejected each one.  So Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”  It was only then that Jesse mentioned the son who was still out tending his sheep like a good shepherd would.  So Samuel sent for David.  And when he arrived the Lord said to Samuel, “This is the one; anoint him!”  You see, it doesn’t matter what we drive or wear as much as it matters what the condition of our heart is.  Jesse thought any of his older sons would surely be the next anointed king.  They all possessed what would surely be “king material” – at least from a human perspective.  But that is not what God was looking for.  He already knew David and what the condition of his heart was. 

The question comes to mind, what would we look like if our outward appearance matched the condition of our hearts?  I dare say, we might find ourselves extremely disappointed.  Not many would match up – especially if viewed from God’s perspective.  But how was it that David’s heart was favored by God?  We can probably find evidence of this in David’s own writings such as Psalm 139:23-24 – “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,and lead me in the way everlasting.”   It seems that David was in the habit of asking God to show him the condition of his heart.  That’s a risky prayer.  As we see from David’s life in 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, as much as David loved God, his heart didn’t always align with God’s instructions for his life.  David had to make changes in his life occasionally and it wasn’t easy for him.  

If we choose to ask God to show us the true condition of our hearts we have to be ready for the results.  Chances are that, for most of us, changes will need to be made if we truly desire to have a heart that pleases God.  And as Pastor Ed Young teaches, in order to have growth from change we will experience conflict – Change – Conflict – Growth.  But if we choose to ask God to “search and know our hearts”, He will change our hearts, He will help us to make the changes needed in our lives and overcome the conflicts that will ensue and we will grow stronger and closer to God as a result.  We could discover what real strength, beauty, grace and integrity look like from God’s perspective.  It would probably resemble what bravery, humility, authenticity and a heart for God would look like. 

My prayer is that we use David’s prayer and ask God to “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  ²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” I pray that He will move within each of us in such a way that He changes and transforms our hearts to align with His plans for our lives and who He created us to be.  My prayer is that God’s transformation will be so apparent that people don’t have to work to look beyond our exterior to see it.  But it just shines through.  And Lord, help us to see beyond the exterior of others so we see Your transformation of them also.