I Samuel 16:7
‘But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”’
Man does look at the outward appearance. We put much emphasis on this. We defer to people based on how we view them. James 2:2,3 expounds on this, 'For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,”'. This is going beyond viewing people based on their external appearance, but acting on it.
Samuel was on a mission to anoint a new king. Jesse's oldest son walked in first and Samuel thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him", (v. 6). The next verse is the focus of today's entry. Samuel based his thought on Eliab's appearance. The Lord corrected him.
God looks at the heart. He is able to do that as He knows our hearts. We don't have that ability. However, the Lord seeks to train us to do so. Hebrews 5:14 says, "But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." The Lord can and does give us an instant gut check. In other instances it takes time to get a good read on things.
This passage says that "solid food is for the mature". This primarily is God's Word, the bible. In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus delivered the parable of the sower. It is about the bible and how when we read it, it gets planted in our hearts and grows. It's no ordinary book. We learn of it and apply it to our lives. The next part of the Hebrews passage says our "discernment is trained by our constant practice to distinguish good from evil". It becomes our day to day experience.
Some of this discernment is learning life's wisdom. Like the phrase, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me". We get wiser the more we are in the bible and allow the Lord to instruct us in our life circumstances.
Another aspect of discernment is the peace of God. Colossians 4:5 says, "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful." This is to be the reality for the believer, a peaceful heart.
Several things can disturb that, sin is one. James 4:1,2 says, "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; soyou commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask." We will not have a peaceful heart when we are driven by selfishness, which is the basis for sinful acts.
Whenever this peace is interrupted, an alarm should go off. We should do an inspection of our hearts. We are not putting God as our lord when we are selfish or sinful. When we repent of those thoughts or acts, that peace is restored.
The Lord can also interrupt that peace as a warning. We haven't done anything wrong, but He wants our attention. Either proceed with caution or turn around. We might not have any reason to be cautious, but He knows all and He can see danger down the road. It may be an action we are supposed to avoid. It also may be a person we are to avoid.
There have been times I've ignored this warning, but found out later by the trouble encountered. I've learned to skip that which interrupts God's peace. Is it possible to read this wrong? Yes. But the practice mentioned in Hebrews improves our discernment.
The evil one seeks to deceive us. Adam and Eve fell for his tricks. He also sought to deceive Jesus. In the wilderness, he tried to hurt His pride by challenging His faith. "Throw yourself down from here. God says He will not allow You to get hurt" (a paraphrase of Matthew 4:6). The devil will seek to trick us. Other people will as well. The interruption of God's peace can be used to warn us.
Lord, help us not to rely upon the exterior and obvious. Help us to grow in wisdom and discernment. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You also for Your wonderful peace that resides in us and guides us.