Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, THE Lord has not chosen this one either. (1 Samuel 16:8)
I used to audition for dance gigs in NYC. Typically, at an audition you would perform a short dance and then you’d be evaluated to see if you made the cut. I remember one particular audition where I waited all day for my time slot. Surprisingly, when it came time, they asked me to simply walk across the stage. I did. I was CUT immediately.
Sometimes, life can feel like one grand audition. An audition where you don’t measure up.
Sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve told yourself some of these lies before. “You’re not as smart as her. Not as successful as her.” Does this ring a bell?
It’s easy to get discouraged. We spend so much time sizing each other up, looking over our shoulder, and measuring our value as humans. (based on our own human metrics aka smarts, looks, wealth, talents..)
Let’s look at a similar audition in 1 Samuel 16:1. Samuel is in search of a King and he has been told that it is one of Jesse’s sons. Jesse’s sons walk in front of him. All seven of them do this brisk walk. Nope. Nope. Nope. None of them are it.
“Are these all the sons you have?” (1 Samuel 16:11) Samuel asks Jesse. “Nope there is still the youngest but he is away tending sheep.” (paraphrase) I’m sure in this moment, Jesse was thinking something like this, “how could it be David? I didn’t even have him come here because that would be so unlikely! He is the least of my sons in every way!”
The Lord picked David. The shepherd boy. The least of his family. The most unlikely.
In your discouragement today, because I know I need the reminder all the time, remember that human metrics don’t mean anything. You see:
“…The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
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