SCRIPTURE:

1 Samuel 16:7b
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Psalm 139:1-3
1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me! 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

DEVO:

Perhaps my favorite character in the Bible is King David. Maybe it’s the commonality we share in a name or maybe it’s that we have more insight into his life and pain than nearly anyone else in all of scripture. Regardless of my personal attraction to his character and his story, he is considered by many to be the greatest King that ever lived, especially within the Jewish community. He was the King that established the Israelite people into a true Kingdom, warding off their enemies and bringing peace to their land. David led war conquests, he was highly favored among the people, he laid the plans for building the temple where God could be worshipped permanently, and he set a strong foundation for a lucrative national treasury. On top of all of that, the name David means “beloved one.”

As much as David enjoyed the favor of the people through much of his lifetime and tenure as king, his story certainly didn’t start out that way. In fact, when we first get introduced to David, he is a small shepherd boy on the backside of the sheep field who has been overlooked by his own family.

At the time, Israel’s current king, Saul, had lost favor with God through a series of faithless decisions he made. Because of this, God went to the prophet Samuel and charged him with anointing a new king, one outside of Saul’s household and lineage. He tells Samuel to go to the house of a man named Jesse in Bethlehem. Samuel goes, finds Jesse, and asks him to assemble all of his sons and line them up to be assessed. Jesse fetches his sons and lines them up before Samuel. One by one, Samuel goes down the line asking God if this one is the next King of Israel. As Samuel stops at each one, God’s response is simple and short — no, he’s not the one. This continues until there are no more sons left to be evaluated. 

Somewhat bewildered Samuel asks Jesse, “Are these the only sons you have?” Jesse admits that he has overlooked one. His youngest, David, is tending to the sheep. “But he’s the runt of the litter,” Jesse indicates to Samuel. Samuel dismisses his rebuttal and asks them to call David in from the sheep fields. 

Imagine this scene: David comes sauntering in from the fields. He looks around and sees the rest of his brothers assembled in a straight line. He is no doubt confused, wondering “What’s going on here?” Jesse, probably somewhat annoyed and thinking that Samuel has missed God’s voice on this one, points for David to fall in line next to his brothers. While all of his brothers had surely put on their best threads and splashed their necks with their version of Cool Water or Armani cologne, David was still dirty and smelly with disheveled hair from being in the fields all day with the sheep. I can just hear their snickering as he clumsily takes his place at the end of the line, measuring a head shorter than the rest of them.

That’s him. Samuel hears it clearly. God is choosing David. Immediately, Samuel grabs the anointing oil, walks over to David, asks him to take a knee, and, to the chagrin of the rest of the brothers, begins to pour the oil over David’s head. David is now the next-in-line to Israel’s throne.

Can you imagine how David must have felt when he realized that he didn’t receive an invitation to his own coronation? Can you imagine how dejected and hurt he must have been when he realized his own dad didn’t believe enough in him to consider that he could be chosen as the next king? Imagine how ostracized and lonely it must have felt to be left alone to attend to the family shepherding duties while everyone else scurries around preparing to “try out” for the most life-changing promotion anyone could receive. 

Have you ever felt this way? Have you ever felt uninvited, overlooked, dismissed, ostracized? The pain of out-right rejection may be more bearable than the pain of being overlooked. At least with rejection, someone had to make a conscious decision to see you and choose not to take you. When you’re not even considered, however, it can be downright demoralizing and demotivating. 

Take a page from David’s life. Even when you feel overlooked and dismissed by the world, God sees you. The lesson Samuel received from God about David was this, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.” Know that wherever you may find yourself today — the sheepfolds or the bedroom, the laundromat or a cubicle, at home alone or unseen in a crowd of people — God sees you. You are not overlooked. He will make sure that you will get the invitation to your coronation when the time is right. 

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND JOURNALING:

1. Have you ever felt overlooked, dismissed, or rejected? How did you respond?

2. In what ways has God shown you that He still sees you even if others don’t?

PRAYER:

Lord, when I feel dismissed and overlooked by people, help me to remember that You see me. Help me to remember that You are doing a work behind the scenes that I can’t see -- one that is setting me up for the next assignment You are calling me to. Help me to know in my heart that You see my value, talents, and gifts, and in Your time You will bring me forward to step into my calling. In the meantime, help me to open my eyes to others who may also feel overlooked so I can encourage them.