Biblical Reflections · Christian Life

Overlooked? Belittled?

7 min read, approximately

“‘Nothing is wrong,’ Samuel answered. ‘I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and join me at the sacrifice.’ He performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought: ‘This must be the man the Lord has chosen.’ But the Lord said to him: ‘Do not judge the man by his appearance. No, he is not the one. I do not choose as people do. People judge by outward appearance, but I look at the heart.’ Jesse then presented his son Abinadab. But the Lord said: ‘He is not the chosen one either.’ Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said: ‘No, he is not the one either.’ So seven of Jesse’s sons were presented one by one, but all were rejected. The Lord has not chosen any of them.” (1 Samuel 16:5-10)

Phrases such as…

“Why would you put him in charge of that when you know he is good for nothing?”, “Why waste time explaining it to him when you know he will not do it?”, “Do not consider him!”, “He certainly does not seem like our son”, “Get out of the way! You are only a nuisance!”, “He never manages well!”, “You make me uncomfortable”, “We do not want to see you!”, “You are the shame of this family!”…
How many phrases like these did we hear in childhood, adolescence, and even adulthood?
Now, how many phrases like these have we believed?

You who feel like a nobody, you who are belittled, you who have been overlooked, you who feel like a nuisance, you who cry in silence and believe God does not know… God’s Word has news for you!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will receive comfort.” (Matthew 5:3-4)

Comfort from whom?

God himself has prepared comfort for you. God has come for the sheep who have been belittled and mistreated, and God himself desires to heal them and give them their rightful place

“I myself will feed my sheep and give them a fold, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost and bring back the straying; I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with justice.” (Ezekiel 34:15-16)

A sheepfold is a shelter where the shepherd gathers the sheep to protect them from harsh weather and predators. In other words, God himself has said that he wants to give you peace, security, tranquility, and protection! Yes! It is God who has said that

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will be safe; his truth is a shield and buckler.” (Psalms 91:4)

God wants to heal every wound and restore you… He also longs for you to reject every accusation made against you, because:

\1. God created you blessed

“Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the countryside. Blessed will be the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks. Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed when you go out. The Lord will defeat your enemies who rise against you; they will come against you by one way and flee before you by seven ways.

The Lord will send his blessing upon your barns and everything to which you put your hand, and he will bless you in the land the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he swore to you, when you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. (Deuteronomy 28:3-9)

therefore

“All the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you. The Lord will make you abound in good things, in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the fruit of your land, in the country the Lord swore to your ancestors to give you. The Lord will open his good treasury, the heavens, to send rain on your land in its season and bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. 

The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you will only be above and not below, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, keeping and fulfilling them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words I command you today, to the right or to the left, to follow other gods and serve them.” (Deuteronomy 28:10-14)

If you do not turn away from the ordinances God has given you through his blessed Word!

\2. God will use you

“Consider your calling, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many noble. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no one may boast in his presence.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

Would you really believe that God created you in his image and likeness to be a nuisance? God will use you!

\3. God has good eyesight

“He answered: Yes, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. He consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he saw Eliab and said: Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord answered Samuel: Do not look at his appearance or his great height, for I have rejected him. [The Lord looks] not at what a person looks at; people look at [what is] before their eyes, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:5-7)

Be at peace. God never makes a mistake, and what he has said he will do with you, he will do!

But what happens if the very people who have belittled you do not call you when the Lord has arrived?

“Then Samuel said to Jesse: Are these all your sons? He answered: The youngest remains; he is tending the sheep. Samuel said to Jesse: Send for him, for we will not sit down at the table until he comes here.” (1 Samuel 16:11)

Be at peace. If no one sends for you, God will never sit at the table until you arrive!

Remember

you were thought of, you were created, you are healed, you are restored, you are valuable, and you are immensely useful in the Lord’s hands!
Be at peace. Even if it seems you are on the bench now, even if you feel your moment or your time has passed, God knows the potential he placed in you… God has plans for you!!!
“Weeping will last through the night, and joy will come in the morning.” Do you believe it?

_**Remember to stop by the Songbook

May God continue to bless you, and may you continue to have an excellent day in Christ Jesus!