When Samuel stood before Jesse’s sons, he thought he knew what he was looking for.
After all, Israel needed a king. Someone impressive. Strong. Capable. Maybe someone tall like Saul, who had once seemed like the obvious choice. So when Jesse’s oldest son stepped forward, Samuel’s first thought was: Surely this is the one.
But God stopped him with a truth that still echoes thousands of years later:
“The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
– 1 Samuel 16:7b, NLT
This verse is one of those moments in Scripture where we get a glimpse into God’s perspective—what matters to Him, what He values, what He sees when He looks at us. And spoiler alert: it’s not the same thing the world celebrates.
We asked for a king like the world.
Back in 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel begged for a king. They weren’t content with God’s leadership through judges like Samuel. They wanted to look like everyone else. “Give us a king,” they said, “like the other nations have.”
The request wasn’t sinful in itself—God had already made provision for kings in the Law of Moses (see Deuteronomy 17:14–20). But their reason revealed their heart: they weren’t rejecting Samuel. They were rejecting God. They didn’t want to be set apart. They wanted to fit in.
So God gave them Saul. He looked the part—tall, handsome, commanding. He impressed people. But he didn’t have a heart that was shaped by surrender. He was more concerned about image and self-preservation than obedience.
In many ways, Saul became a mirror of what the people had asked for: a king who looked strong on the outside but was spiritually weak on the inside.
God looks for something different.
When it came time to choose Saul’s successor, God made it clear: this time, He would pick a king for Himself. Not someone the people would be drawn to—but someone who would be drawn to Him.
Samuel almost made the same mistake again—judging Jesse’s sons by their outward qualities. But God interrupted his assumptions: I don’t choose like you do. I’m not interested in appearances. I’m after the heart.
David wasn’t even invited to the ceremony. His own father didn’t think to call him in from the fields. He was the youngest, the overlooked one, the shepherd. And yet that’s the one God chose. The one tending sheep. The one no one expected.
Because God doesn’t wait for human endorsement to make His selection.
Why this matters for us.
This truth cuts deep—because I often live like Samuel, not like David. I look at the outside. I evaluate others by performance, and I evaluate myself the same way. Am I doing enough? Am I measuring up? Am I perceived well?
But none of these questions reflect God’s heart. He isn’t checking my Instagram or my résumé or whether I said all the right words at Bible study. He’s looking at the motives underneath it all. The quiet posture of my soul. The parts no one else sees.
That’s sobering—but also incredibly freeing.
Because it means I don’t have to compete for God’s attention. I don’t have to meet a standard of outward success to be usable or called. What He wants is my heart.
Not a polished version of it. Not a filtered one. Just…my heart.
And when that heart is aligned with Him—soft, surrendered, honest—He can do things through it that I could never orchestrate on my own.
What does it mean to be “after God’s heart”?
The phrase used to describe David is that he was a man after God’s own heart. But that doesn’t mean he was perfect. Far from it.
It means that what mattered to God, mattered to David. When God said “go right,” David followed. When God said “this needs to change,” David repented. His heart wasn’t flawless—but it was responsive. And that’s what made him usable.
God doesn’t need our strength. He’s not looking for standout leaders. He’s looking for yielded ones. People who care about what He cares about. People who are shaped by His Spirit, not their image.
In a world full of Sauls, be a David.
The world still prizes the Saul-shaped leader—the one who impresses with charisma, appearance, and performance. But God is still in the business of calling the Davids—those tucked away in the fields, faithful in the unseen, overlooked by the crowd but known intimately by the Lord.
And you don’t need to look the part to be called by God.
You just need a heart that’s willing.
