Do you ever feel overlooked? 

It is so easy to get caught up in our own lives, that maybe we forget about someone who needs us or maybe we are the ones who feel forgotten.  I shouldn’t say forgotten but overlooked.  I don’t think people mean to overlook anyone.  As I said, they just get busy.  I understand that.  I know when both my daughters were home I was so busy with all their activities that I didn’t know if I was coming or going and I had relationships that suffered because of it.  I even overlooked myself! It was a hard lesson to learn but I did learn to not overlook those that are important to me or those that may need a little extra love because they are going through a hard time!

In my quiet time, I started reading about David who was overlooked by everyone.  He was just seen as a shepherd boy.  But God saw him as the destined king of Israel. 

He was overlooked by everyone else.  Handpicked by God.

In 1 Samuel 16, the Lord tells Samuel that He does not want Saul to be king.  He wants one of Jesse’s sons to be king.  Samuel thought it would surely be David’s brother, Eliab.

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)

Jesse presented Samuel with 7 of his sons and was told with each one that they were not the one chosen by the Lord.  Jesse didn’t call in David from tending the sheep when he was presenting his sons.  He simply overlooked David.  I wonder why his father didn’t think to call him in right away.  Did he not think David had the qualities to be a king?  Did he simply forget about David out there with the sheep? Like Samuel, had he expected it to be Eliab? He didn’t think to call David in until Samuel asked him specifically if this were all the sons he had.  Like an afterthought he told him about David, his youngest, tending the sheep. 

As soon as David came in the Lord told Samuel to anoint him because he was the one. 

Overlooked by his own father but handpicked by God!

Now it would be many years before David was recognized as the king. In fact, he would go back to tending the sheep and then later he would enter into the service of Saul to play the lyre for him. A future king being refined in the fields and in service to another.  Everyday life preparing him for his calling.

I’m going to remember David when I start to feel overlooked or lonely.  I’m going to remember that no matter how the world sees us we are all handpicked by God. Chosen for a reason.  When others seem to be distant, God is always near. In the midst of our daily lives, our storms, our blessings, our joys, He is refining us.  We are in the process of discovering our calling.  Whatever season of life you are currently in, you are there for a reason. 

Let’s be thankful that even when we feel overlooked, we can rest in knowing we are handpicked by the only One who matters!