The Person God Is Looking For

[1Sa 15:22, NIV] But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."

[1Sa 16:7, NIV] 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."

Today we have two men before us. Saul and David. One was rejected by God. One was chosen by God. What made the difference?

1. The Man God Rejected — Saul

1 Samuel 15 is a tragedy. God gave Saul a clear and simple command: destroy the Amalekites completely. But Saul kept what looked good to him. And then he made excuses. "The people spared the best to sacrifice to the LORD."

Samuel cuts through that excuse without hesitation.

"To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams." (1 Samuel 15:22)

What was Saul's problem? He trusted his own judgement more than God's command. He placed his own logic above God's Word. And he dressed it up in religious language to make it sound right.

Saul is still with us today. People who worship but do not obey. People who use the language of commitment but will not bow before God's Word. God desires one act of simple obedience over the most impressive sacrifice.

2. The Man God Found — David

When Samuel arrived at Jesse's house, the firstborn son Eliab stepped forward. Tall. Impressive. Every inch a king in appearance. Samuel thought to himself, "Surely this is the LORD's anointed."

Then God spoke.

"Do not consider his appearance or his height. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

Seven sons passed before Samuel — and not one was chosen. Finally, the youngest, David, was called in from the fields. A boy tending sheep. The son his own father had not even considered putting forward. The one his brothers looked down on.

He was the one God had been looking for all along.

Tim Keller puts it this way: "God delights to use the people the world has discarded as unusable."

3. The Person Who Sees the World Through God's Eyes

When David arrived at the camp in chapter 17, every soldier in Israel was trembling before Goliath. Forty days had passed. Not one man had stepped forward.

They were looking at the size of Goliath. But David saw something different.

"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26)

Looking at the same giant, Israel's soldiers thought, "We are too small." Some might say David thought, "Goliath is too big." No. What David actually saw was this: "God is too great."

This is the eye of faith. Seeing the greatness of God before the greatness of the problem. Seeing the living God before the fear.

Conclusion

Today God is asking you: "I am looking at your heart. What is there?"

In Saul's heart, there was his own judgement. In David's heart, there was God.

What is the greatest Goliath in your life right now? Look at it today through the eyes of the living God. And declare this:

"God is with me. That is enough."

God is still looking at the heart today. And He is looking for the person whose heart holds love and obedience toward Him.

My deepest prayer is that that person would be you.