1 Samuel 16:6-7
6 So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” 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 the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks [b]at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Imagine if the sons of Jesse were campaigning right now in our nation for the top job. Imagine them going round the nation from one town to another meeting the people and sharing the plans they have for the nation and why you need to vote for them. 8 sons, one of them still a very young man all campaigning for the top job. I wonder, if that was the case, who would you vote for?
Like Samuel we would all be inclined to what we can see. Majority of us would probably look at the eldest one because of his height and his stature and maybe even his experience and we would have missed out on Gods choice. If Samuel depended on the physical and his experience then he would have anointed the wrong man.
Here we are as a nation, about to elect the next set of leaders who will govern our nation for the next five years. What is informing our choice? It is tribe, party affiliation, stature, or experience? Are we depending on what we can see? The reality is that we are limited in what we can see. The critical area is the heart of an individual and only God can see that. In the past elections we have voted for individuals because of what we could see or what they convinced us off only for their heart to be revealed once they stepped into office then we realize their motives were not good and they had deceived us.
May we be wise and sensitive enough to inquire of God which direction to go based on the purposes he has for this nation because only he can see the conditions and intentions of the heart of every candidate who is seeking public office.
