In Your Face

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.”
         

~ 1 Samuel 16:7 

As you may know, The Cabinet of the United States is part of the executive branch of the United States. The Cabinet's primary role is to serve as an advisory body to the President of the United States. I once read a story about when Abraham Lincoln was considering men for his Cabinet. One man immediately rose to the top of the list, but Lincoln, also known as the ugliest president to ever hold office, rejected him, reasoning, “I don’t like his face.”
         His advisor responded, “How can you say that? A man can’t be responsible for the face he was born with.”
         Lincoln said, “After forty years, every man is responsible for his face.”
         So Lincoln rejected him because he didn’t like his countenance. Lincoln knew something we should also take note of—the face reflects the heart.
        1 Samuel 16 records the anointing of young David as king over Israel by the prophet Samuel. Samuel thought God would choose a king of similar stature to Saul, who was the tallest and most handsome man “among the sons of Israel” (1 Samuel 9:2).
         Samuel examined the outward appearance with each of the seven sons of Jesse, but God rejected them all, except Jesse’s youngest son, David.
         Why does God choose some men and seemingly reject others? Is God random? Is it coincidence? Or is something more at stake?
         2 Chronicles 16:9 offers one possibility; “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”
         One method God uses to select or reject is an examination of the heart. God sees what no one else sees, and knows what no one else knows.
         We, like Lincoln, might see a glimpse of the heart based on one’s countenance, but only God knows the heart. Do you want to change your life, start with your heart? Your words and actions are simply an overflow of the heart (Matthew 12:34-36)
         It was also King David who wrote, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23). What’s in your heart? What does God see when He searches yours?