Finding Favor With God

     This is my first blog of the week for good reason.  This has been a rough week, a rough few weeks actually.  What I have to share with you has been weighing heavily on my mind for a while, and I didn't want to rush my thoughts out until I was ready, and could give it the justice it deserved.
     Times like I have had lately, well, they are tough times, but also times of great joy in suffering.  When times are toughest, those are the times I grow closer to God.  One of the things I have been praying about lately, besides the needs of my friends and loved ones, is finding favor with God.  In times of my introspection, the Holy Spirit has kept the story of King David in my mind, and today I finally gained some insight into what God was trying to tell me, and what He wanted me to share.
     Many times we feel like we are too small and insignificant for God to care about us, to use us, and to show us favor.  Maybe that is how David felt.  David was, in the eyes of the world, nobody who would stand out.  Samuel, in fact, looked upon Eliab and was sure that he was the one.

⁶ And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD'S anointed [is] before him.

⁷ But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

    Samuel then went through all of Jesse's sons, save for David, thinking that surely one of them was the anointed one.

¹⁰ Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

¹¹ And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all [thy] children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

     David was out keeping the sheep, not even invited to the sacrifice.  David, it would seem  was the least of Jesse's sons.  But David, the one who loved The Lord, was the one that God chose.

¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he [was] ruddy, [and] withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this [is] he.

¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

     I can only imagine that David, while he was tending the sheep, did as we all would probably do.  I would imagine that David talked to The Lord, and wondered why he was not invited to the sacrifice.  Little did David know what God had in store for him.  God knew from the beginning that David would be king, David only knew that he loved The Lord.  I imagine David felt insignificant that day, just a lowly shepherd, the least of his brothers.  God had other plans for David though.
     How often  do we wake up with the realities of our world bearing upon us, thinking that we are so insignificant that God would not have plans for us, and doesn't notice us?  If we will only love The Lord our God with all of our hearts, then we cannot fathom the plans that God has for our lives.  It may not be today, or the next, but God will, in His perfect time, work all things out to the good of those who love Him.  Even though we may feel small, and insignificant, we are all precious in His sight.  Open yourself up to God's will in your life, and let Him use you.