November 24, 2025

INWARD APPEARANCE

1 Kingdoms 16:7 (1 Samuel 16:7)

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his outward appearance, nor for the maturity of his stature, because I have refused him. For man does not see as God sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees into the heart.”

Personal Challenge

In the passage leading up to this verse, Samuel has been charged to go to the family of Jesse and select one of his eight sons to be the new king of Israel. As most of us would do, Samuel started selecting the strongest and most kingly looking man to be that king. But God said, “No!”. Samuel went through seven of the brothers with God rejecting each one. The eighth was David, a small, ruddy, young boy. God had selected him to be the king, not because of how he looked, but because of what God knew was in his heart. The lesson is for us to stop looking at outward appearances but at the person’s heart. We cannot see that like God does but we can see it in the fruit of the person’s life, which reveals the state of their heart. Glory be to God!