The Lord Looks at the Heart

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.” [1 Samuel 16:7]

God does not see us as others see us. People look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart. We must be God-centric. God must be at the core of our hearts and the driving force for all our actions and words. We must also realize how we treat others and all things living in the universe will stand judgment before God. And God plans everything that happens to us. If we keep these three things in mind, God stands with us and showers us with His infinite blessings.

One. Examine your heart.

God looks at our heart of hearts. He looks at our core. He doesn’t care about our outward appearance. People care about these things. God doesn’t. With this realization in mind, we must look inward and examine our hearts. What’s at the core of our hearts? When God looks at our heart of hearts, will He find things troubling? If so, we must fix those things. When it comes down to it, is money the driving force in our lives? Is it social status or material wealth? These things will never bring us happiness. We will never see brighter days unless we fix what’s at the core of our hearts. When God looks at us and decides giving money will be good for Him and others, He gives it to us. But if giving money troubles God and causes others discomfort and agony, He will not give us money because He knows it will destroy us. Remember, the Lord looks at our hearts! We can deceive people, but we can’t trick the Lord about what’s in our hearts.

Two. Examine your words and actions.

The final stop for all our words and actions is the Lord. They’re riding a bus, and the last stop on the line is the Lord’s judgment. Therefore, how we treat a rock with no ears or mouth or how we treat animals or how we treat material objects or how we treat all living things, including good and bad people, will end up before God. In other words, all our words and actions and our general behavior as human beings will stand judgment before the Lord. We must be aware of this fact as we make our way through this world.

Three. All things come from God.

Someone curses at you. Someone compliments you. You trip over a rock. You meet a great situation. You meet a horrible one. It’s important to realize God creates every situation we meet so that we can avoid destruction and continue to receive His blessings. How are we supposed to react? Should we give in? Should we repent? Should we persevere? Should we seek to destroy those who hurt us? Should we work harder? We must first discover what the Lord is asking us to do and figure out why He is giving us this situation. Then we must do His will and obey. If we do these things, what’s wrong will be fixed, and we’re on track to receive all His promised blessings!

And we should not waste time fretting over how others treat us. Leave it all in God’s hands. We should not repay evil with evil. It’s not our job to seek revenge against our enemies. We must work hard to become a person with whom God stands. Then He curses those who curse us! He blesses those who bless us! He helps those who help us! It doesn’t matter what others do. Just become a person who God can help.

Let’s walk out of the darkness, find the right path, and run the race of life with all that we have. If we do these three things, we’re well on our way.

Summary