Pastor’s Message for June 2021

What Do You See?

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

The first half of the 16^th chapter of 1 Samuel talks about the anointing of David as the next king of Israel.  Saul was the previous king, but was rejected by God because of his disobedience.  The Lord sent Samuel to Bethlehem to find David, but Samuel did not know who David was or that it was David he was searching for.  He was directed to go see a man named Jesse and to anoint one of his sons to be king.  As Samuel looked at Jesse’s first son, Eliab, he knew this was the son the Lord wanted him to anoint to become Israel’s next king.  But to Samuel’s surprise, God told him, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.” Abinadab, Jesse’s second son, was not the son the Lord had chosen either.  Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and Jesse replied yes, David, a shepherd in the fields.  Samuel told Jesse to send for David, and when David arrived, his appearance was scruffy and he did not look like a king.  The Lord affirmed David as the one, and Samuel anointed him with olive oil. 

To look at David, you would not believe he was going to be a great king.  At first glance, David was young, scrawny, and a shepherd.  His physical attributes were totally opposite those of Saul, who was tall, handsome, and a warrior.  Samuel probably wondered why God would choose a scrawny kid to replace a tall warrior as king of Israel.  But God warned Samuel about the error in his thinking by revealing to him that, unlike humankind, God does not use people based on physical appearance.  When you look in the mirror, what do you see?  Do you see scars?  Maybe glasses?  Maybe a bad hair day?  Maybe ….?  I am not a betting man, but I am willing to bet we don’t see what God sees. 

God created the masterpiece you see in the mirror every day, “flaws” and all.  God took a shepherd and made him a great and mighty king.  If God created David to be a king, God created you to be more than what you or others can see, regardless of what physical attributes you may believe you lack.  It is what is on the inside that truly matters.  What we consider imperfections, God considers tools to spread the gospel.  That scar reminds us that even in the battle, God’s protection helps to see us through.  Those glasses help us to see God’s purpose being carried out around us.  A bad hair day signals we are overdue for a trip to the salon.  You were created in God’s image and your physique is made to God’s glory.  Are you looking into the mirror and becoming frustrated with who God has made you to be?  Just like David, God is using what is on the inside of us, not what others can see. 

God’s blessing in all we do,
Pastor Ross