“God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7)
Oh good! I find so much comfort in knowing that God can see the real me. He doesn’t judge me on the time I yelled at the fast food worker or talked bad about my friend or cut someone off in traffic or got onto my kids out of anger.
We all make mistakes right? Who wants to be judged on our mess ups? God still loves me and judges the real me.
But wait…
If that’s true, how good is the real me? Am I really better on the inside than on the outside? If someone, other than Jesus, saw my heart, would they still want to be around me?
I can make my outside demeanor pretty appealing. I can put on trendy clothes, smile and talk with the best of them, act like I have it all together. But hiding the real me, my heart, now that’s a different story!
How many times have I put on a pretty face and acted like everything was ok, yet on the inside, my heart was aching so hard I thought it might burst? I didn’t want anyone to know the “real” me because if they did, they would run out the back door so fast it would pop off its hinges! Thank God He is the only one who can look inside my heart!
In 1 Samuel, God is picking a new king to rule over the Israelites. Samuel, the high priest, is chosen to appoint this king, but God has to remind him that the new king is not going to be who Samuel might think.
You see, Samuel was looking on the outside, choosing men who “looked” the part. God, however, could care less what they looked like! God wanted someone who would be faithful and true to Him. “God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
The precious thing about God looking inside our hearts, is we can trust Him. We can trust Him because He loves us! It is a love that doesn’t dismiss, or ridicule, or neglect or forsake. God’s love is foreign and obscure because our love is jaded, colored by our own selfish heart. Even the one person who loves us the most, has loved us with a selfish love at one point. Only God Himself can love at all times in the purest of ways!
That is someone I can trust with my heart!
Yes, He sees the worst of me, and yes, He sees the best of me, but to Him it doesn’t matter. He just loves! He loves me despite myself!
And He loves you despite yourself too!
Let’s try to stop the charade and cry out to Him with our “real” heart. Tell Him how you truly feel and what you are struggling with. Let your guard down. He will protect you, not judge you or berate you. When we are brave enough to lay our heart at His feet, He bends low to cradle us in His arms and protect us with all the He is!
Now that is a worthy pursuit!