GOD'S SELECTION PROCESS
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 16:6-12
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes and good-looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" - 1 Samuel 16:12
Life is full of opportunities that require people to be selected and appointed to play specific roles. The qualities required for holding a leadership role would include qualifications, skills, experience, appearance, eloquence and personality.
God's selection criteria often looks beyond these unseen attributes and potential qualities that only He, in His infinite wisdom, can see. When that happens, His choices often run contrary to conventional wisdom. In the cases of people like Gideon, Saul and Jeremiah, they themselves could not see what God saw in them and therefore protested when God's selection process located them.
When Israel's second king was about to be chosen, God sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse's home to anoint one of his sons as king. Not surprisingly, upon seeing David's big brothers like Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah, the prophet was impressed by their appearance and other credentials. God was not. God's choice of king contradicted the thoughts of the prophet Samuel and even David's father, Jesse. While they focused on the outward qualities, God was looking at inner attributes and the heart. David, who was chosen went on to become Israel's most celebrated king and is described as "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22). When you compete against people who seem to be more qualified, experienced or resourced than you, the favour of God can locate your potential and give you an advantage.
Prayer: Father, locate me in the place of obscurity and bring me into my inheritance.
