The shepherd boy, David, spent a lot of time in the pasture tending sheep. When God sent Samuel to anoint a future king, David’s father, Jesse, didn’t even put him in the line-up. Instead, Jesse paraded his other seven sons in front of Samuel. They were older and, in the world’s eyes, they fit the image of a future king. So David was overlooked by his own father.
He wasn’t even on Jesse’s radar.
But he was on God’s.
The Lord rejected David’s seven brothers, and so Samuel asked Jesse if there were any more sons. Jesse then calls for his youngest, David, who was out in the pasture taking care of the sheep. I often wonder if he knew what was going on inside the house? Did he ever question if anyone saw him out there with the sheep? Did he feel overlooked? Rejected? Stuck in the mundane?
I Samuel 16:7 (KJV) says, ” But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
God was concerned with the heart of David, not how old he was or how tall he was.
Sometimes, we all feel overlooked and unworthy. There’s someone else at work who gets the promotion, and someone else at church who gets to sing the solo. Or maybe there’s a mom who always has it together, while we struggle to fold yet another load of laundry, wipe another runny nose, and actually put on matching shoes. And we wonder if we matter when we’re stuck here in the ordinary.
But the Lord knows our heart.
God looks past all the outward appearances and seeks those whose hearts are in pursuit of Him.
He knows your reality, and He knows your dreams. And He has a way of finding people who are merely shepherds, tax collectors, prostitutes, and laundry-folders, and He specializes in using them in mighty ways.
One of my favorite Bible verses comes from 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NAS)
“For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His . . .”
God is searching for you. He is looking “to and fro” because He wants to be your Rock, your support, and your strong foundation. He knows about your hard work, your pain, your struggles, your joys, your mistakes, your disappointments, and your endless piles of laundry. He is looking for hearts that are fully His.
While everyone else looked at the tall, kingly-looking sons of Jesse, God raised up a king from a young shepherd boy who had a heart for Him.
God’s desire is that our hearts would follow hard after Him.
In the midst of our ordinary lives, even when we feel stuck out in the pasture with the sheep, God has not forgotten us.
Just ask Hagar.
Hagar was one of Sarah’s maid servants. And as the story goes, God had promised Abraham and Sarah a child, but when Sarah doesn’t get pregnant right away, she takes matters into her own hands and sends Hagar to sleep with Abraham. Hagar becomes pregnant, but even though Sarah had orchestrated the whole fiasco, she is not happy! She hates Hagar and treats her very badly, so Hagar flees, fearing for her own life and the life of her unborn child.
But God sees Hagar. He sends an angel to encourage her and to tell her that God knows all about her affliction.
In Genesis 16:13 (NIV), Hagar calls out to God: “. . . You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
The word that Hagar uses for God is “El Roi”. It means “the God who sees”. This is the only place in the Bible where this particular name for God (El Roi) occurs. It’s an awesome reminder of how special we are in the eyes of a God who seeks us out and truly sees us.
He sees us in the midst of our everyday, mundane tasks. He knows our circumstances, our victories, and our defeats.
He is El Roi.
Just as God found David out in the field tending sheep and Hagar out on her own feeling abandoned, He knows where to find you. But not only does He find you, He knows your heart and searches inside to the deepest part of who you are.
He sees you.
Let me say that again – –
He sees you.
Cling fast to that promise, for you are not forgotten or alone.
He knows right where you are . . .
And He is seeking your heart.