Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
November 27, 2023
1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to grieve over Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and get going. I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have found my next king among his sons.” 2 “How can I do that?” Samuel asked. “When Saul hears of it he’ll kill me!” “Take a heifer with you,” the LORD replied, “and say, ‘I have come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make clear to you what you should do. You will anoint for me the person I point out to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD instructed. When he came to Bethlehem, the city elders came to meet him. They were shaking with fear. “Do you come in peace?” they asked. 5 “Yes,” Samuel answered. “I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD. Now make yourselves holy, then come with me to the sacrifice.” Samuel made Jesse and his sons holy and invited them to the sacrifice as well. 6 When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, That must be the LORD’s anointed right in front. 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Have no regard for his appearance or stature, because I haven’t selected him. God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.” 8 Next Jesse called for Abinadab, who presented himself to Samuel, but he said, “The LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 So Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.” 10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t picked any of these.” 11 Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that all of your boys?” “There is still the youngest one,” Jesse answered, “but he’s out keeping the sheep.” “Send for him,” Samuel told Jesse, “because we can’t proceed until he gets here.” 12 So Jesse sent and brought him in. He was reddish brown, had beautiful eyes, and was good-looking. The LORD said, “That’s the one. Go anoint him.” 13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him right there in front of his brothers. The LORD’s spirit came over David from that point forward. Then Samuel left and went to Ramah.
Good Morning. God has a plan for us.
Artists have a great eye for seeing potential. Sculptors can reveal beauty in a big chunk of marble or granite. When they first begin, you might see rough or even jagged edges among some smooth surfaces. Even when they have chiseled for a long while, it may still look like a block of rock. The longer they work, the more the edges are smoothed and refined. One day, you gaze upon the work and begin to see the potential the sculptor saw on day one. You get glimpses of an animal or person, but still, you must wait to see the finished product. When the final product is revealed, you gasp in awe and wonder at the beauty that sits before you. You wonder how you couldn’t see what the sculptor saw.
Through our baptism, God sends the Holy Spirit to be our sculptor. In the beginning, like the stone waiting to be formed into beauty, we have many rough and even jagged edges. The Holy Spirit molds, shapes, smoothes, and reveals within us the being that God intended us to be. Sometimes, we must wait for years for the great revelation to appear, but when that final product is revealed, we gasp in awe and wonder at the beauty that sits before us.
Gracious God, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. We come into this world with great potential. By your grace, the Holy Spirit reveals our true spirit to the world. Thank you in the name of Jesus. Amen
Thought for the day: Our true being is unrevealed until our season.
See the potential of beauty that lies in each person! Pastor Liz