The Upper Room Daily Devotional from The United Methodist Church of Nashville, Tennessee, United States for Wednesday, 15 November 2017 "The Opinion that Matters" by Sandy Quandt (Texas) - 1 Samuel 16:1-12
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DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017
You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may
declare the praises of him who called you out
of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9 (NIV))
When I read today’s scripture passage, I wonder why David’s father, Jesse, did not send for David when Samuel asked to see all Jesse’s sons. Instead, Jesse left David out in the field, tending sheep. Did Jesse forget about David? Did he think that David was insignificant? Unworthy? It really doesn’t matter what Jesse may have thought. What matters is what God thought. And God had chosen David to be Israel’s anointed king. From David’s line would come the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
At times we may feel that, like David, we’ve been left out. We weren’t chosen for that desired position. We weren’t asked to be on that committee. We didn’t make the team. We didn’t feel wanted or loved. Other people considered us insignificant. But just as God chose David even when it seemed his father had forgotten him, God chooses us. God doesn’t leave us out in the field. God loves us unconditionally.
When we feel insignificant and unimportant, we can remember that God’s opinion is the only one that really matters. In God’s eyes, we are beloved daughters and sons.
When I read today’s scripture passage, I wonder why David’s father, Jesse, did not send for David when Samuel asked to see all Jesse’s sons. Instead, Jesse left David out in the field, tending sheep. Did Jesse forget about David? Did he think that David was insignificant? Unworthy? It really doesn’t matter what Jesse may have thought. What matters is what God thought. And God had chosen David to be Israel’s anointed king. From David’s line would come the King of kings, Jesus Christ.
At times we may feel that, like David, we’ve been left out. We weren’t chosen for that desired position. We weren’t asked to be on that committee. We didn’t make the team. We didn’t feel wanted or loved. Other people considered us insignificant. But just as God chose David even when it seemed his father had forgotten him, God chooses us. God doesn’t leave us out in the field. God loves us unconditionally.
When we feel insignificant and unimportant, we can remember that God’s opinion is the only one that really matters. In God’s eyes, we are beloved daughters and sons.
TODAY'S PRAYER:
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1 Samuel 16:1 Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “How much longer are you going to go on grieving for Sha’ul, now that I have rejected him as king over Isra’el? Fill your horn with oil, and set out; I will send you to Yishai the Beit-Lachmi, because I have chosen myself a king from among his sons.” 2 Sh’mu’el said, “How can I go? If Sha’ul hears of it, he will have me killed.” Adonai said, “Take a female cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Adonai.’ 3 Summon Yishai to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you are to anoint for me the person I point out to you.”
4 Sh’mu’el did what Adonai said and arrived at Beit-Lechem. The leaders of the city came trembling to meet him and asked, “Are you coming in peace?” 5 He answered, “In peace. I have come to sacrifice to Adonai. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He consecrated Yishai and his sons and summoned them to the sacrifice. 6 When they had come, he looked at Eli’av and said, “This has to be Adonai’s anointed one, here before him.” 7 But Adonai said to Sh’mu’el, “Don’t pay attention to how he looks or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. Adonai doesn’t see the way humans see — humans look at the outward appearance, but Adonai looks at the heart.” 8 Then Yishai called Avinadav and presented him to Sh’mu’el; but he said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 9 Yishai presented Shammah; again Sh’mu’el said, “Adonai hasn’t chosen this one either.” 10 Yishai presented seven of his sons to Sh’mu’el; but Sh’mu’el told Yishai, “Adonai has not chosen these. 11 Are all your sons here?” Sh’mu’el asked Yishai. He replied, “There is still the youngest; he’s out there tending the sheep.” Sh’mu’el said to Yishai, “Send and bring him back, because we won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. With ruddy cheeks, red hair and bright eyes, he was a good-looking fellow. Adonai said, “Stand up and anoint him; he’s the one.”
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We are all important in God’s eyes.
Young people who feel left out
READ MORE:
More from Sandy Quandt BY SANDY QUANDT (TEXAS)
Today's meditation is my story as much as it is King David’s. Perhaps it is your story as well.
Growing up I often felt left out. Overlooked. Forgotten. Whether I actually was or not, didn’t seem to matter. What mattered to me was how I felt. And because I felt left out, I believed I was. Even as an adult, I often need to remind myself regardless of how we might feel, it doesn’t change the fact that we are all important in God’s eyes.
Being a writer, I face critique, opinion, evaluation, and judgment with every piece I write and make public. That can be a scary thing, for sure. Because I write for God, I do the very best I possibly can and leave the results in his hands. Sometimes what I write is published and praised. Sometimes it is not. During the disappointing times when I receive a rejection of my work, I must remember it is my work that is rejected, not me. I remember who I am in Jesus’ eyes. I remember my writing is an offering to him; publication is not a measuring stick of how much I am loved by God.
I imagine you face similar situations whether you work inside or outside your home. We work as to the Lord, yes, but because we live in the world, our work is subject to others’ likes and dislikes. Is it not? Just as with David, we should remember God’s opinion is the only one that matters, and God thinks we’re pretty special.
For more devotional thoughts, book reviews, and gluten-free recipes, please stop by my blog, Woven and Spun, at www.sandykirbyquandt.com every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
I wish you well.
The Upper Room®
Copyright © The Upper Room 2017, All rights reserved.
Header Photo Credit: "Harvested Land," Beth Shumate. August 15, 2014. (link)
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