The Lord Sees Who and Where We Can't

 I Samuel 16:6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 

Many of us are familiar with this account of the anointing of David to be King.  God sent Samuel to the home of Jesse to anoint the next king, but which son was he?  Samuel thought he could see and know. He was wrong.  In fact, the "anointed one" was not even there; he wasn't even invited to the party.  But God could see where David was and was more than willing to wait for him to arrive.  More importantly, God could see where Samuel (and we!) cannot.  The Lord sees deeply into the heart and soul of the person. He knew that David was "a man after God's own heart." May we comprehend the limits of our vision, and allow God to see and show us who and what He sees.