God Looks at the Heart
Table of Contents
It is easy for us to become discouraged, or to see how others are answering their call and think that we are somehow disqualified or incapable of answering our own. Maybe we think the call on our lives is too big? Maybe we think it is too difficult? But God does not give us more than we can handle, or call us to something that we cannot accomplish WITH Him!
God is perfect. He does not make mistakes. And, as the Word shows us over and over again, God looks at the heart. He does not make the choices that man does, because He sees the big picture and knows true love and justice.
Join us as we discover how the Lord chose, anointed, and empowered the ‘unqualified’ so they could answer their call… and how, with God, YOU too can answer your call!
Understanding How God Looks at the Heart
Directed by the Lord, Samuel went to Jesse’s home to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. Yet, for a moment, even Samuel focused on the outward appearance…
“So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!’
“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 16:6-7
Samuel of course listened to God, going through all of the sons that Jesse presented to him; and when Jesse failed to offer up his son David as an option, God directed Samuel to ask if Jesse had any other sons. When David was at last presented, and God told Samuel that David was the one He had chosen, then Samuel put David on the path to his future—anointing David as king.
David certainly was not unattractive or displeasing in appearance, mannerisms, or speech, yet his family did not see the need to put him forward as an option for king. They did not see what God saw!
God looked at the heart of David. At the way David praised and worshiped. The way he protected—even the sheep. God looked at his character, and at the boldness of his faith. He saw all of this in David, along with who David would become…
Yes, David was not perfect; he made mistakes, some small and some large. However, God would not have chosen David if he had not been the man meant to lead His people—if he had not been a good choice. God would never have allowed David to be in the lineage of His Son if there had not been something in David worthy of that incredible honor…
Like He did with David, Good looks at the heart of all of us.
Trusting That God’s Purpose and Call for You Will Work
Did you know that many men and women throughout the Word were given special purposes and calls in spite of not meeting with man’s ‘ideals?’
Consider these men and women:
A great many more names could be added to this relatively small list, yet we can see even in these few examples that every purpose and call given by God is perfect. Yes, by man’s standards, it likely looked as if they would be unable to answer God’s purpose and call for them. But in each of their stories, we can see GOD knows best!
Consider Moses. Moses stuttered, killed a man, and questioned God. Moses did not think himself capable of doing what God wanted and even went so far as to question God’s choice. Moses knew his flaws and he failed to understand why God was sending him into Egypt to speak to Pharoah. Yet, God saw something more… God saw Moses’ heart for the children of Israel. God saw his loyalty. God saw all of this and more. He saw enough to allow Moses not only to be involved in the freeing of the children of Israel, but also to be a leader for them.
Yes, Moses made mistakes. Both before and after he answered his call. But God saw something within Moses that overrode those flaws. God saw a heart able to do all He would ask.
Esther/Hadassah equally would not have been man’s first choice. She was a Jew living in a Persian empire. She was an orphan. She had not been raised in the lifestyle of a queen. Yet, God saw her heart. God knew that she would be obedient and courageous when the time came. God knew she would answer her call; that she would step up to save her people despite what it might cost her.
Certainly, Esther had flaws. However, God knew that she was ready to answer a call she had likely never imagined. God knew who she was in a way that no one else, not even Esther, did…
The same is true for Mary Magdalene, Matthew, Rahab, Joseph, Shallum’s Daughters, Gideon, Leah, and so many other biblical figures… and remarkably, the same is true for us!
God knows and loves each of us; He knows our hearts, He knows who we will become, and who we are called to be. His plan for each of us is perfect because God looks at the heart…
How YOU Can Do All Things Through God
God created YOU for an amazing purpose and call. Yet, like Moses, questioning God, or like Jesse, David’s father, not seeing David as a king, we and those around us do not always see what God does. Where we look at outward things, God looks at the heart.
God does not make mistakes. When God gives us a purpose and a call, He is telling us that He trusts us to answer it! He is reminding us of the heart within!
Still, just as God demonstrates His trust by giving us a purpose and a call, we too ought to demonstrate our trust in God… by accepting our purpose and call, in full confidence of the Lord’s plan! By allowing God to take the wheel because we know His design and will is PERFECT!
“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
—Matthew 5:48
“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.”
—Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV)
We are meant to put God first. To walk in the ways of God. Allowing God to be our true delight and pleasure as we commit ourselves to Him…
When we do that, amazing things happen!
“Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh, and he will give you what you desire the most. Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way, you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!”
—Psalm 37:4-5 (TPT)
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”
—Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
Putting God first is not legalism. It is not bondage. But instead, it is love. It is trust. And it is perfect.
Each of us has a unique purpose and call upon our lives… and with God, we are more than conquerors. With Him, we are able to accomplish what we were born to do. And in Him, we become whole!