Daily Devotional – 11/9/17 “Look Deeper!”

When I rolled over this morning and saw the sun, I assumed the outside temperature was warmer. Then I checked the weather and it gave me a reality check, “no sis, its 40 degrees.” As I got out of bed, I thought about the times life has tricked us into assuming something other than reality because we based “it” on what we saw. I mean, the enemy makes the ending of the story look happily ever after and we assume it is because we base it on what we’ve been shown, never checking further. We assume him or her is our soul mate because they dressed the part and speak our love language but reality is, we assumed based on what we saw, instead of looking deeper. We see the outside of the car, pop the hood and yes, that’s it but drive it three days and the check engine light comes on and we’re stuck with it because we signed based on what we saw. Are you looking deeper? Had I based my wardrobe on the fact the sun was shining bright, I would have been in for a rude awakening when I got to the car. But get this … I looked deeper than what my natural eyes showed me, I checked the weather. Are you looking beloved?

Before you say yes to the proposal, are you checking with God, knowing He’s the very thing available to check heart and soul references or are you going by what you see? Before you say yes to the promotion, are you checking the resources available in order to make an informed decision or are you looking at the pay and going for it? Before you say yes to that place of worship, have you run the spiritual readiness test to ensure it meets your spiritual needs or did they shout you on Sunday and you feel good? Before you say yes to the dress, did you check the price tag and your checking account? Are you checking the resources available to ensure what you see is actually what you’re getting? When God sent Samuel to anoint a new king, he looked at the appearance of Jesse’s sons but the bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” Don’t assume based on what you see because it could cause your more pain than you’re naturally capable of handling. Instead follow the advice of Jesus when He said in John 7:24, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” In other words, look deeper.