The Lord Looks At The Heart

A method of spiritual journaling

Scripture

Observation (What does it say?)

Application (What does it say to me?)

Prayer

S - 1 Samuel 16:7b … “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV)

O - God sees what no one else sees - the state of a person’s heart.

A - We are limited to basing our opinions and evaluations of people by what we observe with our eyes and hear with our ears. We use facial expressions, body language, and the words we hear to evaluate people and situations. Many times, we are completely deceived or come to an incorrect conclusion because we cannot see beyond - behind the masks and tone of voice. We don’t get the whole picture, only the pieces others let us see. Sometimes even those pieces are disguised. I think it’s important to consider God’s perspective when interacting with people. It should help us keep a balance when we are tempted to either be overly impressed with outward appearances especially when there is little evidence of God’s spirit working in a person’s life or overlook God’s work in a person’s life when outwardly he/she is less attractive or does not live up to our expectations. In either case, we are not seeing clearly.

P - Help me, Father, to see others through your eyes and keep me from having a judgmental spirit which does not reflect your love or your character.

#heart #eyes