Topic: The Last Christmas Tree On The Lot

Read: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to be the last tree on the lot on Christmas Eve? People have passed you by because you were the wrong size or had gnarled branches or a poor shape or your needles were falling.

Perhaps you feel like a rejected Christmas tree. You don't quite measure up to people's expectations. You think nobody wants you.

There's good news. God doesn't look at you the way people do. He looks at your heart.

When the prophet Samuel was looking for a person who was qualified to be the next king of Israel, Jesse paraded his seven oldest sons in front of him. But the Lord had not chosen any of them. God told Samuel, "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (v.7).

Jesse's youngest son was out tending the sheep. He wasn't even being considered. Yet when Samuel found young David, he anointed him as the one to succeed Saul as king of Israel. The Lord saw in David "A man after my own heart, who will do all my will" (Acts 13:22).

Today, as back in David's time, the Lord is looking for a heart that is willing to serve Him. What does He see when He looks at you? --HWR

That I may love Him is my soul's ambition--
Love Him with all my mind and strength and heart,
Seek out His will and choose it, in submission,
And with the joy He only can impart. --Anon.

To have a heart for God, give God your heart.

Data Source: Our Daily Bread

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