#138 THE GOD WHO SEES YOU (2) 9-15-26

HE SEES YOUR POTENTIAL

People often see what you are. God sees what you can become.

People look at the present. God sees the future.

People see the block of marble. God sees the statue.

It’s like Michelangelo’s David. Before there was a magnificent sculpture standing in Florence, there was simply a massive block of marble. To an ordinary observer, it was just stone. But Michelangelo saw something in it that other people could not see. He could envision what was hidden inside.

God does something like that with human lives.

He sees possibilities that we cannot yet see.

He saw David while David was still watching sheep. When Samuel came to Jesse’s house to anoint one of his sons, David wasn’t even invited into the first meeting. His brothers stood before Samuel, and Samuel thought one of them must surely be the LORD’s anointed. But God said, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Everybody else was looking at Jesse’s sons.

God was looking at David.

Everybody else was seeing a shepherd.

God was seeing a king.

That ought to encourage somebody today.

You may not look like much to the world. You may have made mistakes. You may have wasted years. You may have a past you wish you could erase. You may look at your own life and see limitations, failures, weaknesses, and disappointments.

But God sees possibilities.

“We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Ephesians 2:10). God is not finished with you. “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

Think about a seed.

Hold an acorn in your hand, and you don’t see a forest. You see something small. You see something that can fit between your fingers. But inside that little acorn is the potential for an enormous oak tree.

Jesus used the language of small beginnings when He spoke of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). God delights in taking what seems small and using it for something greater than anyone imagined. “Do not despise these small beginnings” (Zechariah 4:10).

Maybe you are looking at your life and thinking, “What difference can I make?”

God sees more than you see.

Maybe you are thinking, “I’ve wasted too much time.”

God sees what He can still do with your remaining time.

Maybe you are thinking, “I’m too weak.”

Paul learned that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). “For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

A good coach can sometimes see something in an overlooked athlete that the crowd cannot see. The athlete may be sitting on the bench while the crowd watches somebody else. But the coach sees ability. The coach sees discipline. The coach sees potential.

God saw something in David while David was still in the pasture.

God saw something in Moses while Moses was tending sheep.

God saw something in Peter while Peter was still casting nets.

God saw something in Saul of Tarsus while Saul was still persecuting the church.

And God sees something in you.

That does not mean God ignores our sins or excuses our failures. Grace never requires God to pretend that sin isn’t sin. But our failures do not exhaust God’s ability to redeem a life.

Peter denied Jesus, but Jesus restored Peter.

Mark failed on one missionary journey, but later Paul said, “He is useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).

David fell terribly, but God was not finished with David.

The God who sees your past also sees your future.

He sees beyond your weakness.

He sees beyond your failure.

He sees beyond your present circumstances.

He sees what grace can make of a surrendered life.

BDD