But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7(NKJV)
Have you or someone else ever asked you whether you are doing enough, loving enough, forgiving enough, giving enough, praying enough, fasting enough, reading your Bible enough? The truth is you can never do enough no matter how hard you try.
‘For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’– We see that God is always more interested in our attitude than our activities. He is more interested in our motives than our accomplishments. You may sometimes feel a sense of guilt that you aren’t doing enough whereas other people appear to get so much more completed in a shorter time. Some people can write several books in a year while others can take several years to write one, some preachers write a sermon in an afternoon while others take several days, some people read through the bible in a year while others might not. The important thing is you are progressing. The Christian life isn’t about counting, measuring or evaluating. It is about a relationship where I know I am loved and accepted by God regardless of how slow the progress might be. Sometimes the time allotted to these activities is often determined by our situation in life especially the demands from children, parents or work in our lives. So don’t feel guilty if you are no longer unable to tarry in prayer all night like your neighbour. Serve God whichever way you can. God looks at your heart, be faithful in what you can do and do it diligently.
So, we don’t need to work to impress God, others, or even ourselves. We don’t need to compare ourself or copy other people’s experiences. God made us unique and wants a unique relationship with each one of us. It isn’t God’s intention to burden us with a list of things to do, but rather he wants us to live from a place of peace and joy.