Title: Appearances not enough

By: J.O. Lawal
Date: July 22, 2026
Series: Youth for Jesus
Number: Vol. 9, No. 10

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”” (1 Sam 16:7NIV)

When did God say the words of our opening text to Samuel? It was when he went to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as king over Israel, that is, in place of King Saul.

As the account goes, it was God Himself who had told Samuel to go to Jesse’s house to anoint as king one of the man’s sons that He had chosen. Interestingly, God did not tell Samuel who among the sons of this man He had chosen as king. He just told him to go there first and then expect Him to show him who the king was among the man’s sons.

But then, when Samuel saw Jesse’s first son, Eliab, we are told in the bible that he thought it was he that the Lord had chosen as king. So, without even asking God any question about the young man, he immediately said, “Here is the Lord’s anointed before Him.” And how many times have we also acted like Samuel, thinking we knew what was on the mind of God, only to realise that we have missed it?

See, we cannot determine the mind of God simply on the basis of what we see, hear, feel or think. That is because what we see, hear, feel or think about a matter may not be telling us enough things or everything we need to know about that matter. But God can do that. He can tell us everything about any matter, that is, beyond what we can see, hear, feel or think about it. That is because He sees it all. He knows all things about every matter and every person, however hidden those things may be.

In any case, before Samuel would commit a blunder in Jesse’s house by anointing the wrong person, God quickly told him not to consider the appearances of the sons of the Jesse coming to him. Why? The reason was that their appearances were not enough to show him or tell him all that he needed to know about them, about their fitness to be king. He would need divine revelations to know that. Yes, he would need divine revelations to know the one among them that was king on his inside.

Now that was exactly what happened. Though Jesse first had seven of his sons stand before Samuel, there was none of them that had what it would take to be God’s king on his inside. And they had to wait for David to be brought in from where he was looking after his father’s flocks before the king God had chosen was found and anointed. (Cf. 1 Sam 16:6-13)

What, then, do we learn from all this? One of the lessons of this is that we cannot tell whether someone is great or small by merely looking at their externals. Judging by David’s appearance and life’s circumstances at that time, no one would take him for a king. But God, who created him, had already put in him what would make him a king of kings. If anyone, then, ignored or maltreated him before he was publicly anointed by God as king, just because nothing about him looked special, would the person not be doing so to their own disadvantage? They would!

Also, by merely looking at the physical appearance of our Lord Jesus and his birth circumstances, no one would take him for the Saviour of the world and Lord of everything God has created. In fact, when Nathaniel first heard about him, his remark was, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” But when he came to Jesus and He began to tell him where he had been that day, he realised that his focus on the externals had made him miss it. So, he quickly apologised and said, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, the King of Israel.” (Cf. John 1:44-49)

So, don’t ever again judge anyone’s worth in life only on the basis of what you can see, feel, hear or think about them. Instead, judge them on the basis of what God has revealed to you about them. And if He has not yet revealed anything to you about them, just relate to them with love and respect. That way, you will not be dishonouring someone that may tomorrow be in the position of protecting, honouring or elevating you.

In like manner, don’t judge your worth in life on the basis on your life’s circumstances. Instead, judge your worth only on the basis of divine revelations. That is because only God knows the worth of the things He has deposited on your inside. And unless He reveals it to you, you will either underrate yourself or overrate yourself, none of which is good for you. So, begin to daily seek divine revelations of who you truly are on the inside by giving yourself to prayer and the word of God. That way, you will never again look down on yourself or allow anyone to look down on you, for you will know that your place in life is special.

Cheers!

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