God’s Opinion – Part 1
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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
David’s father didn’t think he was qualified to be Israel’s next king. So when Samuel came looking for a successor to King Saul, he presented his oldest son Eliab, who was a general in the army. Samuel was impressed. ‘…Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here…” 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 man looks at. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’’’ (vv. 6-7). When it comes to your life’s calling, only one opinion counts—God’s! In order to fulfill his destiny, David had to overcome his family’s opinion of him. One author writes, ‘Any time you see people pursuing a mid-life career change, you can be almost certain that they have been living someone else’s dream and lost their way.’ Nobel Prize winner for literature Joseph Brodsky observed, ‘One’s task consists first of all in mastering a life that is one’s own, not imposed or prescribed from without, no matter how noble its appearance may be. For each of us is issued but one life, and we know full well how it all ends. It would be regrettable to squander this one chance on someone else’s appearance, someone else’s experience.’ It’s not too late to become what God wants you to be, and do what He wants you to do. If you’ve been living somebody else’s dream, ask God for a dream of your own and He will give it to you.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me be faithful to what dream You want me to fulfill. Help me be faithful to You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen