1 Samuel 16:11

And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”

A friend once told me that the moment he dreaded most in high school was when his classmates in PE chose sides for a team. Being the non-athletic type, he consistently was chosen last. The rest of the school day was usually clouded by the realization that in athletics, at least, he was viewed as the LVP (least valuable player).

Perhaps David felt the same way. While all his brothers were given responsibilities at home and their father’s attention, David was sent off to the lonely task of herding sheep on the Judean hillside. He probably was speaking from personal experience when he said, “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take care of me” (Ps. 27:10).

Yet the one whom others saw as a person of last resort, God considered a person of first choice. Even though David’s father deemed him worthy only of leading sheep, God saw him as the future leader of Israel.

How the world sees us is of little importance; of utmost importance is how God sees us. Heaven will be filled with those whom others considered to be of little value but whom God knew to be of supreme importance.

What is hidden now will someday be revealed—if not on earth, then certainly in heaven. Many who humbly stood in last place in life will find themselves in that day at the head of the line (Matt. 19:30).

Don’t be discouraged if those around you do not hold you in high esteem. Little can they know the plans God has for you. You may be last in their sight, but you are not least in God’s sight.

THOSE WHOM MAN PUTS LAST GOD OFTEN PUTS FIRST.

WOODROW KROLL
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