“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18

There is a match-up that will not make the headlines of any newspaper that might be the greatest match-up of all of our lives! This match-up serves as the greatest shaper of how we look at life and how we see our daily circumstances no matter what they are. It’s the matchup between the seen and the unseen. If we are honest, what we see often dominates our lives (bad news, tough breaks and even amazing accomplishments) and our perspectives. But for the Christian, there should be an additional viewpoint to life’s events.

We each need to look through Scripture to enhance our sensitivity to the unseen so we can have a higher dependence on God, who can often appear to be unseen. He became seen by making the world and He is, if we look carefully, very seen in all that happens — the sunrise, our heartbeats, the human eye and so on and so on. We see things as beautiful or big, but in the end, the most important things cannot be measured in size or monetary value but in how the immeasurable God is using the measurable thing in front of us. That’s where we have to evaluate our spirit and motives — what we focus on. The truth is that we can’t properly navigate the seen if we only think about what is in front of us.

What is God doing in the unseen that we need to remind ourselves so that the seen is not driving our lives?

There are few stories better than David’s selection as king to show that God’s heart is after our hearts and not just the seen external things of this life. Israel had a king that they elected based on looks/popularity and he let them down because of his ego. So where does God go looking for His next king through the prophet Samuel? To the fields in Bethlehem where He finds David — a king whose “outward” appearance and status is indeed a disqualifier in the eyes of everyone around him. But what the Lord says to Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7 is the quote we should all hear from His heart. It is, quite possibly, the greatest quote about God’s eternal intentions for us. Can the external be more important than the internal to a God who is eternal? He must remind us over and over that our lives here on earth which are consumed with external appearances are all vapors as James says (James 4:14). The motives, the intentions and the heart behind the actions are what counts. If David was chosen as king because of it, what makes us think that there should be any difference in the way Heaven operates!

Let this be a challenge to us and a sign from God. External appearances are not our identity. Our identity, confidence and qualifications come from what we fear and trust the most, which should be God Himself and nothing else.

—Jack Easterby, New England Patriots Team Development/Character Coach

The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.