1 Samuel 16:6-7

Highlighting – “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not 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.” (v.7)

How often do we look at someone and their material possessions saying, they must have it all together, or they are a hot mess? Realize, we all make judgments on a daily if not second by second basis. The problem is, we’re not always correct in our judgments. This is what the Lord is basically telling Samuel to be careful of. We judge by outward appearance, but God sees the intentions of our hearts, He knows who is genuine and who isn’t (Proverbs 21:2). What I love about our God is NO ONE on earth can fool Him. God sees what is deep in our hearts and thoughts, rendering to us according to its intentions (Jeremiah 17:10; 1 Kings 8:39).

Let’s do a self-check (and make a habit of it)! Ask yourself, am I, *insert your name here* a person after God’s own heart? If I’m honest with myself and judged MY actions, thoughts, words and attitude towards others today, can I say that I’m truly emulating Christ? We must ask God to reveal our shortcomings to us (Psalm 139:23-24). You see, external sins are easy to point out, but what about those internal sins? Pride (the root of all sin, Habakkuk 2:4a), selfishness, gossip (Proverbs 20:19; 6:12-13; 10:10), lust, deceit, the list goes on, (see 2 Timothy 3:1-5, Colossians 3:6-9). Or do you know the sins of others more than you know / recognize your own sins?

Today, we will evaluate ourselves throughout the entire day, judging our conduct against the life that Christ lived on this earth. We know how Christ lived when we read about His ministry in the gospels. We can actually judge our conduct against the entire Word of God (Hebrews 4:12-13). Secondly, we will ask God to give us the ability to discern things for the truth as He sees it. May God fill us with the Holy Spirit to make proper judgments. As the saying goes, “Do not judge a book by its cover”. Take time to read it, then you’ll truly know its contents.

Dear God, always fill me with Your Spirit. Sharpen my wisdom and discernment so that I may see the truth as You see it. Father, help me to self-evaluate regularly and see my sin more than I see the sins of others. Please help me to mature in Christ so that I may lead a righteous and blameless life before You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.