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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”-1 Samuel 16:7

I recently wore a really nice blazer to a book signing at Indigo to eventually discover it was badly ripped on the inside. To make matter worse….it was noticed by a customer that wanted to know more about my book (Love Rained Down: 40 Days of Encouragement).

A thought then hit me that I shared with them; many people look really good on the outside, but are ripped on the inside living life discouraged. They’ve allowed the issues of life to get the worst of them. When we don’t take our discouraging situation to God, what we feel on the inside is eventually noticed by others and we become bitter instead of better.

When you look at the above scripture and read it in context, you’ll see the indication that Samuel was looking at the outward appearance of all of Jesse sons when it came to considering who was to be anointed the next king. They all had the right appearance! They looked good, tall and probably had on nice clothes like my nice blazer.

What Samuel couldn’t see was their hearts. There is nothing in our secrete lives that isn’t notice by God. Every motive, intentions, secret actions or thought are all seen by God. God saw their hearts were far from him which eventually disqualified them from being the next king. I am pretty sure God gave them invitations and opportunities to deal with their issues and heart condition.

We too must also accept God’s invitation and call to be in right standing with Him. We must be people after God’s own heart and Spirit.

Today, pre-load your heart with God’s word, until discouragement losses its grip over you. Be encouraged knowing broken things can become blessed things if we let God do the mending; He is stitching every thing ripped in our stories for His glory. God’s banner over you today is ”Total Recovery”.

Solomon