"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 16:7)
The Lord is unlike any man. We tend to look at others and judge them by the way they look, they sound, the way they carry themselves.
We may not want to admit it, but we quickly judge people and form our opinions about them the first time we meet them. Most often these opinions come from how these people dress up, what they wear, how they carry themselves, and even how they walk. An article from Business Insider says just that.
God, however, is not like that. He doesn't need to look at our clothing or hear our first words before He can know us.
He knows us already, even before we were born (see Psalm 139:13-16).
More than knowing us from before we were born, God also knows the motives inside our hearts. He knows what we feel, what we think, what we hide deep inside the recesses of our hearts.
'He knows me?'
Dear friend, God knows all of us. He looks intently into our hearts every moment, carefully looking at our motives. This truth might sound scary to some, but in reality it's one of the most liberating truths ever, especially when it comes to everyday life.
This truth is very helpful. Here are a few ways it does that.
1) We can't fake anything before God
Ever went to youth group and saw some of the guys wearing better clothes than you?
Or ever joined the discipleship group and felt insecure of yourself, especially when the other members sounded so confident and "blessed"?
Moments like these incite some to paint a fake image of their true selves before men. One thing that should be remembered, though, is that no matter how many people we can fool with our "Christian pretensions," God sees right through us.
And because God sees right through us, we don't have a need to fake anything before Him anymore.
2) We are given a reason to fear Him and live right
The Bible tells us that God will judge the motives in our hearts. Proverbs 16:2 tells us,
"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits."
God weighs our motives. Since He looks at our heart, we can't hide our motives from Him.
What we can do is to learn to fear the Lord and to live right in this word.
3) We are assured of His love always
Ever realized just how much God loves you? Romans 5:6-8 tells us,
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Think about that. God loved us so much even when we were lost and away from Him. His love prompted Him to send His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ (see John 3:16).
Christ came and died for a people who were still stuck and mired in sin. We were unrighteous, a people predisposed to sinning and wickedness.
Yet God saw our sorry state and saved us through His only begotten Son.
The fact that God looks at the heart should encourage us: that God sees our failings and shortcomings, as well as our issues, yet loves us still.
