What Every Coach Looks For In Their Athletes

I Sam. 16:6-7 - When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 

• Samuel Looking For God's Man 

The Lord told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint one of Jesse's sons who the Lord would indicate was going to be the next king of Israel. Samuel walks into the sacrificing area with Jesse and sees Jesse's oldest son, Eliab.
 
As soon as Samuel sees Eliab he thinks surely this is the one God will have me anoint as the next king, but God said, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him;…"
 
Samuel had made a judgment because of his good looks and his height, but the Lord said he is not the one I want you to anoint because I have rejected him.
 
Samuel made the same mistake we all have made at one time and that is he judged Eliab by his appearance. 

• How To Judge Like God 

If we are going to judge like God then we are going to have to judge a person by their heart. Read the text again: "…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
 
I have known a lot of coaches in my 60 + years and every great coach wants to know what their athlete's heart is like. When it gets tough will they break or will they dig down deep and go to another level.
 
Going to the next level doesn’t have anything to do with how you look or how tall you are. It has to do with your heart.
 
My all-time favorite saying goes like this: You don't always have to be in the lead if you have the HEART to come from behind. 

• How's Your Heart Today? 

What is it the Lord wants you to accomplish for Him?
 
Remember the Lord knows your heart and He would not be calling you if He didn't think you were the right person for the job.
 
Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, and all of Jesse's sons passed by Samuel and the Lord rejected all of them. Samuel says to Jesse do you have any other children? Jesse says, "There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep."
 
In other words, Jesse doesn't have very high hopes for David. He is not like his brothers. He is not only tending sheep and the youngest; he is fair skinned with red hair. In this area, people have dark hair, eyes and complexion.
 
One thing the Lord knows about David is he has heart. You judge for yourself about David's heart. Here is the conversation David had with King Saul before he fights Goliath:
 
"Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God."  And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." (I Sam.17)
 
David's older brothers were there when Goliath threw out the challenge but they didn't accept the challenge. David not only will accept the challenge he will kill Goliath with a stone and then cut off his head with his own sword.
 
Why?
 
The reason is very clear to see David had heart exactly what God was able to see.
 
God is calling you to do something and it is because you have heart. All you have to do is go and God will go with you.
 
Think About This:
 
When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart instead of his head.

​Stay Pumped,
 
Gary A. Serago
 
Minister of God's Word
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