The Lord Is With You
“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected Him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
If you know this verse, I’m willing to bet it’s among your favorite Bible verses. If you’re reading it for the very first time, I’m just going to assume that at this very moment you’re grabbing a pen to underline it in your Bible or write it out on a piece of paper. (Go ahead, I’ll wait!)
First Samuel 16:7 is an incredible verse. It reminds us that God sees us on a level that often goes unnoticed by others; that the metrics by which the world evaluates us are often shallow and not at all how God evaluates us.
But as I was reading through 1 Samuel 16 recently, there was another verse—verse 18—that especially grabbed my attention. To appreciate why, though, it’s helpful to understand what’s been going on in 1 Samuel up to that point.
Earlier in the book, Israel had demanded a king and got one when God told the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king. Saul’s rule started off well enough, but things soon began to unravel as Saul blatantly disobeyed God. So Samuel let Saul know that God had rejected him as king and sought out “a man after his own heart” to lead Israel (13:14). Who is this next ruler? That’s where chapter 16 comes in.
In 1 Samuel 16, God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem. There’s a man living there named Jesse, and one of Jesse’s sons is who God has chosen to be king. When Jesse brings out his firstborn son, Eliab, Samuel figures that this must be who God was referring to. But that’s when God reminds Samuel not to consider a person’s appearance (verses 6–7). As it turns out, God’s chosen king was the eighth and youngest of Jesse’s sons: David. With this unlikely choice revealed, Samuel anoints David with oil, and then we read that “the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on David from that day forward” (verse 13).
And this brings me to the part of the chapter that really stood out to me. When Saul’s servants realize they need a musician to cheer up their despondent ruler, one man suggests getting David to come play for Saul. He describes David in several ways in verse 18 but ends with: “‘and the Lord is with him.’”
What does it mean that God was with David? In short, that His Spirit had come upon David. And there are a couple of encouragements that we as Christians can take away from that.
First, that the Spirit is on us today in a more powerful way than He was on David. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would come upon specific individuals and then leave. This is what happened with Saul, and it’s what David prayed wouldn’t happen to him after his sin with Bathsheba (1 Samuel 16:14; Psalm 51:11). But because of Jesus, the Spirit now indwells all God’s people, permanently. Though the Christian life is hard in many ways, God’s Spirit is with us—which means the wind is at our backs. Though powerful forces push against us, an even more powerful force pushes us forward.
Second, let’s remember that what was true of David is true of us as Christians: God is with us. He is for us. He adores us. He’s not disappointed in us. He’s pleased with us. He hasn’t abandoned us. Not only does the presence of God’s Spirit assure us of His power at work in our lives, it assures us of God’s favor.
Finally, let’s find our value in the incredible truth that God is with us. On paper, David didn’t have the qualifications to be the next king. He wasn’t Saul’s son. And he was the youngest son in a family from an insignificant town. No quality in him screamed “king” except for one: “the Lord was with him.” The world—fascinated as it is with stature, appearance, salary, knowledge, education, size of house, etc.—often looks right past what God looks at: “those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word” (Isaiah 66:2, NIV).
So when you find yourself in need of God’s strength, remember: the Lord is with you. When you are tempted to believe that God has abandoned you: the Lord is with you. And when you find yourself feeling unvalued in the eyes of the world, remember: the Lord is with you. This is everything, because “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31)
