“… For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
The Lord’s great interest is the heart of man. He keenly watches our attitude. If we rejoice when our enemy falls, He is so displeased that He will remove His punishment. (Pr. 24:17,18) His anger may wax hot, but He would have us stand in the gap displaying His merciful heart, pleading, “Lord, in wrath remember mercy!”
We can hide the way we feel in front of men by being silent. “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” (Pr. 17:28) But God doesn’t need us to speak to know what is brewing in our heart. “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.” (Ps. 139:4)
God found David in an obscure valley tending sheep. When no one, not even his father, gave him much mind, God’s eyes were upon him. What caught God’s eye? David’s heart. God liked the attitude he saw in this young man. He was excited to find one whose heart mirrored His own. “… I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart.” (Acts 13:22)
Throughout his life, David sought heart alignment with God. If his attitude was other than what God found pleasing, he wanted God to straighten him out. “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Ps. 139:23,24) David understood how important our inner man is to God. His cry was not simply to be pleasing in his actions, but in his attitude as well. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Ps. 19:14)
The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, but the heart is the holy of holies. There, God’s Spirit would be joined to our spirit in a bond of fellowship and kinship. God is still looking for those who will share His heart. He sees past the outward appearance, His eyes are on our attitude.