But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

Do I make this mistake? Do I look at the outward appearance and not the inward appearance? Do I see things with my earthly eyes, or do I see things through Godly eyes? How often have I rejected something because of its appearance? How often have I rejected a person because of their appearance? We need to look through the eyes that God provides. We need to learn to look at things in a much simpler way. We need to see what is important. What is truly important can often be difficult to see.

What is important? Do we know? Have you heard? Have you asked your Father? The answer is right before us. It is not your status in life, it is not the money you make, it is not even who you lead. It is who you follow, it is who you serve, and it is how humble you are. It is what is on the inside.

It is a little like that box of chocolates: they all can appear the same, but some can have a rich, wonderful cherry filling and some can just be hollow. You have to be aware of the inside. The rich cherry is oh, so good.

The Bible speaks a lot of hope: the Blessed Hope, the hope of salvation, the hope of that which is to come, and so much more. Job, Psalms and the Proverbs have so much hope. Cling to that hope: hope that better and more complete times are yet to come.

The Bible (Hebrew 11:1) says

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Paraphrased, that's "Reaching out and grasping that which is not there, and holding on until it becomes reality."

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

A tree planted by the water, that sends out roots by the stream, does not worry about the drought that is here today. A person who stands upon the word of God as his safety net does not worry when the stock market crashes, the job market goes, or his health leaves. Like the mighty tree by the stream, this person can withstand much, being tapped into the saving grace of our Lord and Savior. Walking in our dry land today, you can see the difference between the trees that are near the streams and the trees that are not. The ones near the streams are stronger and healthier. They grew last year: maybe not as much as they have in other years, but they grew.

Where does your confidence lie, in man or God?

Because of the Lord’'s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself,” "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Because I am loved so much, the troubles of the day will not intimidate me. God'’s love and comfort will keep me wrapped in his loving care. Everyday that begins, he blesses me with his love and the strength I will need for that day. I just have to remind myself that the Lord, my Father, has everything covered. I just need to wait on him and not run ahead.

My Father is good to me, but that goodness is there only when I wait. If I run ahead, I can miss his blessings. It is good to wait quietly