Recovery Christian Center Daily Meditation - 8/18/12 - No Matter Who You Are (Or What You've Done) God Has A Devine Plan For Your Life
"In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has n
ot
chosen any of these.” Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you
have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in
the fields watching the sheep and goats.” “Send for him at once,” Samuel
said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.” So Jesse sent
for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord
said, “This is the one; anoint him.” So as David stood there among his
brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed
David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon
David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah." 1 Samuel
16:10-13 NLT
All of us come to Christ with a past. Sometimes it is even more so with folk in recovery. Even though God has forgiven all of us once we surrender to Him, many of us live like we are still in spiritually unworthy state that says my past is too bad to really be accepted by God. We can't let go of our own guilt and shame so we allow ourselves to think that God is ashamed of us as well. We get stuck in a "we're not worthy" mentality and we begin to believe that we are inferior other believers. We even are sometimes judged by others because they have a hard time believing that God could use us either.
Samuel found himself in similar situation when he was sent by God to anoint a new king over Israel after the current king had been repeatedly disobedient. What's not mentioned in the text is that Jesse's family was not a typical family to choose a king from. They were not related to the current king. They weren't in the military. They weren't in the king's court. They weren't government officials. They weren't wealthy or influential. They were simple shepherds. David was the last of Jesse's sons not the first. In those days it was the first born that was the inheritor. The rest either worked for their brother or struck out on their own. Here the Lord is asking Samuel to anoint the last son of a shepherd, who according to the world is a nobody, the next king of Israel. But as God reminds Him earlier in this chapter, "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (verse 7)
That's exactly what God does when He looks at us. He doesn't look at our past or our imperfections or our education or our status in life. He doesn't care how much or how little we have. He only cares about our willingness to be in relationship with Him and to follow His Word. So its time to stop looking at ourselves as unworthy and see ourselves how God sees us. He sees us as His children made in His image and likeness who He wants to see become who He has called us to be. Stop selling yourself short and buy into God's plan for you.
All of us come to Christ with a past. Sometimes it is even more so with folk in recovery. Even though God has forgiven all of us once we surrender to Him, many of us live like we are still in spiritually unworthy state that says my past is too bad to really be accepted by God. We can't let go of our own guilt and shame so we allow ourselves to think that God is ashamed of us as well. We get stuck in a "we're not worthy" mentality and we begin to believe that we are inferior other believers. We even are sometimes judged by others because they have a hard time believing that God could use us either.
Samuel found himself in similar situation when he was sent by God to anoint a new king over Israel after the current king had been repeatedly disobedient. What's not mentioned in the text is that Jesse's family was not a typical family to choose a king from. They were not related to the current king. They weren't in the military. They weren't in the king's court. They weren't government officials. They weren't wealthy or influential. They were simple shepherds. David was the last of Jesse's sons not the first. In those days it was the first born that was the inheritor. The rest either worked for their brother or struck out on their own. Here the Lord is asking Samuel to anoint the last son of a shepherd, who according to the world is a nobody, the next king of Israel. But as God reminds Him earlier in this chapter, "The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (verse 7)
That's exactly what God does when He looks at us. He doesn't look at our past or our imperfections or our education or our status in life. He doesn't care how much or how little we have. He only cares about our willingness to be in relationship with Him and to follow His Word. So its time to stop looking at ourselves as unworthy and see ourselves how God sees us. He sees us as His children made in His image and likeness who He wants to see become who He has called us to be. Stop selling yourself short and buy into God's plan for you.
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