READING: 1 Samuel 16-18
There are some stories of the Scripture that are so familiar to us that we might take them for granted. In some cases, we remember them more as stories we first learned in Sunday school years ago than stories that give us hope today. I suspect today’s reading takes many of us in that direction.
As Samuel learned, none of the sons of Jesse we might have expected to be the next king was the one God had chosen. We tend to look for leaders in a different way than God does: “Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). We look externally, but God looks internally. We look for skill and training (and . . . both do matter), but God looks first for commitment and obedience.
That’s one reason God chooses the shepherd boy when no one else would have—and it’s also a reminder to us that our heart matters more than our external appearance. Likewise, the story of David and Goliath is a reminder that God alone gets the glory for anything we think we have accomplished. Whether or not we view these as only Sunday school stories, we need these reminders.
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What does God see when He looks on your heart?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, I pray You see trust, obedience, and love in my heart today.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Samuel 19-22
