A pastor warns against mistaking your gut feelings about people for the Holy Spirit's guidance. He shares how his own insecurities made him judge others unfairly, then turns to Samuel's mistake in 1 Samuel 16:7, where God corrects him: God looks at the heart, not appearance.
I can't tell you how many times I met someone and I was a little off-put by them. I didn't like their tone. I didn't like the way they carried themselves. And really, it was a problem in me that was coming to the surface. Maybe I felt a little insecure by a quality they possessed that I wish I did. Whatever the case may be, it's going to differ from person to person. But I can't tell you how many times where I judged from the exterior and I told myself it was the Spirit. And later the Holy Spirit would have to tell me, I didn't tell you that. That wasn't me. That was your own perspective. You were judging from the exterior. Yeah, even, even the prophet Samuel had an issue with this. Remember when Jesse brought to him his sons and Samuel was assigned to anoint the next king? Really, he was looking for David, but he didn't know it. And, and he was saying, surely this is the one God wants to anoint. Surely this is the next king. Why? He was judging from the exterior. Even the prophet did that. If even the prophet Samuel can do that unintentionally, then you and I can do that unintentionally. And that's why we have to be careful of it. 1 Samuel 16:7. But the Lord said to Samuel. So here's God correcting him now. Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn't see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
