But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV
In our Scripture passage, God has sent His prophet Samuel to find a new king for Israel. He had rejected Saul because of his disobedience. And now Samuel was sent to the home of Jesse to find a replacement. Now back in 1 Samuel 10:23 we are told when Samuel first looked at Saul that Saul stood a head taller than everyone else. So perhaps Samuel was looking for someone who was large in stature. Jesse had eight sons. He presented the seven oldest sons to Samuel, but as Samuel examined each one, God told him each time, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” Finally after examining seven of Jesse’s eight sons, Samuel asked if all of his sons were there. Jesse told him that David, the youngest was out tending sheep. Samuel had David brought in from the fields and in v.12 we are told that Samuel saw a young boy who was ruddy (having a healthy red color), with beautiful eyes and a healthy handsome appearance. Then the LORD told Samuel that this was the one and to anoint him king. In v. 13 we are told that the Spirit of the LORD took control of David from that day forward. In ! Samuel 13:14 God told Saul that his kingdom would not continue as God would seek a man after his own heart. In Acts 13:22 in Paul’s sermon he described David as a man after God’s own heart. We know that after Saul’s disobedience, God was looking for a man after His own heart and this is why he anointed David.
If you were to have your heart examined by God, how do you think you would come out? When the Bible speaks of our heart it is not speaking of the organ that pumps blood. It is referring to our inner soul. This is what determines how we respond to God and how we treat others. We describe someone as heartless when they are mean and treat others cruelly.
When we accept Christ as our Savior, He fills our heart with the Holy Spirit. We no longer want to do anything displeasing to God. We want to give Him glory and honor and praise in all that we do. When we do this, he honors us and gives us glory.
David was a man after God’s own heart. This means that he was a man who sought to do God’s will. The interesting thing about this is that David was anointed king when he was just a young teenage shepherd boy. But with God’s anointing he would go on to slay Goliath and become a mighty warrior against the Philistines who opposed God and His people. But it would be many years before David would become king. He would be hunted by Saul like an animal. He would pass up opportunities to kill Saul and end his running and hiding because He knew that Saul had been anointed before him. He refused to kill God’s anointed and waited on God’s timing. This is something I often struggle with, but we see from the Bible that God’s timing is often times much slower than our timing. We are in microwave mode, but God is in Crockpot mode. David shows great patience. David is finally given all that God has promised him, and then we see that he is human. He messes up big time. He commits adultery and to cover it up commits murder. But he repents. He is sorrowful over his actions and pleads for God’s forgiveness and for God to cleanse him from his sin in Psalm 51.
We hide nothing from God, for he sees what is in the depths of our hearts. He knows what we think and He knows what we say. Others will also eventually see what our hearts are truly like because the Bible tells us that from the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). We don’t hide what’s in our heart from God or from anyone else. I ask you today to do a self-examination. God knows your heart. If it needs to be cleaned out, He can do that. Trust in Him today. Make your prayer that of David in Psalms 26:2 and 139:23 when David asked God to examine his heart, to try him and know his anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in him, and lead him in the way everlasting.
God is the great physician, your heart is in good hands when you give it over to Him.
Have a great day!