Be Relational

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT

God sees the heart, and in this verse, He is explaining to Samuel that Jesse’s son, Eliab, isn’t the one He has chosen to be the king that will replace Saul. Eliab may look good on paper but his heart credentials don’t line up.

We see all a man does, even as he does it for the Lord. God sees the man's heart. Has it grown in love for God since the last time God inspected it or has it become stagnant? If the growth of love towards God has become stagnant, then perhaps we are doing more outwardly for God than we are doing inwardly. Our relationship with Him and our loved ones are most important and we must grow in them every day if we value them.

To be clear this isn't a "get out of volunteering free card", but it certainly is important to ensure that you are close to God so that you can hear His heart and for Him to refresh you in body and spirit so that you can continue to extend His love to all who you do serve. Relationships must come first, but forget about the “horse before the cart” analogy, because doing God’s work without a growing relationship, well, it’s like trying to move the cart without a horse at all. Yes, it can be done, but it will be extremely difficult as it will be time-consuming, physically exhausting, and cause your spirit to become disheartened. This is what true burnout looks like.

This year I implore you to strengthen your relationships with God and each other, as more can and will be accomplished through relational strengthening.