Devotional 3-26-14

The leader God chooses is not “in the box”  

Key Verse:  1 Samuel 16:7   “Man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart”

At God’s direction, Samuel set out to Bethlehem, looking to anoint a new king of Israel.  This king would be one who was obedient to God’s word and not swayed by a desire for popularity.  God sent Samuel to Jesse’s household.

Jesse had fathered eight sons, exceptional young men who were handsome, brave, good warriors; figures who literally stood tall above other men.  Surely, thought Samuel as he encountered them in person, one of them was destined to be anointed the new king of Israel.  Yet, as Jesse presented seven (7) of his sons to Samuel, none were suitable to YAHWEH.

God’s choice was David, the youngest and smallest of all the brothers.  He wasn’t even present with the rest of the family, but out in the fields, tending sheep.  Some might call him the “runt of the litter”; he was physically described as “healthy” and “fine boned.”  He was an unpretentious shepherd.  David spent all of his time not as a leader of people, but out in the wild.  His best friends were sheep whom he kept out of harm’s way. He protected the family’s herd of sheep from predators like wolves and even bear with little more than his wits and a stick.

All of Samuel’s preconceived notions about who “is” or “is not” leadership material failed to measure up to God’s expectations.  Samuel was looking “in the box” as it were, the traditional, culturally appropriate approach to finding leadership. God’s choice was made not on outward appearances, but on the innermost thoughts of David’s heart.   God chose one who was “outside the box,” not one of the “beautiful people,” not the typical power broker’s “mover and shaker,” not what most of us would look for in a leader.   God opted for one who showed he was faithful, trustworthy, and obedient even though his task was considered menial and anything but glamorous.  In God’s eyes, though, David’s love for his sheep and willingness to fight to the death for them was credential enough for God.

Perhaps the lesson for us is that we seek God in the wrong places.  Just as the disciples looked for Jesus in the empty tomb after his resurrection, we, too, sometimes look for God in godless places. We seek solace in the “traditional” trappings and wrappings of society, like success and adulation. We hunger for things that leave us spiritually bereft.  We fill our hours with “white noise” instead of seeking a true quiet that opens us to the peace and presence of God.

“Let us listen carefully to God’s call and not mistake the voices of compulsions or guilt or fads or our training for God’s voice”,  Mission:  the Small Church Reaches Out, by A. Papas & S. Planting, ©1993, Judson Press.

Prayer: God, help us to re-direct our lives towards you.  Help us to filter out the competing noises from your voice, so that we hear and recognize only your voice.  Open our eyes so that we see and understand your will for us.  Help us to walk in the light of your goodness.  Amen.

Dorothy Turner-Lacy