The Heart Test: Part 1b - When Standing Out Isn’t Enough
What Saul’s life teaches us about surrendering what sets us apart
(Pictured: Me and my only son JT, at Barton Springs in Austin, June 2025)
What if the very thing that makes you stand out… isn’t what makes you ready?
“There was a man of Benjamin... a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.” — 1 Samuel 9:1–2
From the start, the Bible makes it clear: Saul was tall, dark, handsome, and came from a good family. Okay okay, it doesn't say he was “dark”, but I'm imagining Lance, Damsen or even dare I say…Kofi.
Ahem, ok Back to Saul..
Saul stood out. He had it.
And yet, none of it was earned. He didn’t work for his height, his presence or his family's wealth, He just had it. Or better yet, it was given to him by God. And it so happened (in God's sovereignty) that what he possessed naturally was exactly what Israel was looking for in a King. He was everything Israel believed they wanted.
If you haven't read Part 1a, head back to The Heart Test: Israel to catch up!
My entire family is in ministry. Aunts, uncles, grandparents, my mom — they’ve all dedicated their lives to the Lord and His people. At sixteen, on a mission trip, I heard the call toward ministry, and honestly, it terrified me. (Much like Saul, but we’ll get to that soon.) From the outside, my path into ministry probably looked obvious. Natural. Expected. Like everything lined up.
But here’s the truth Saul’s story reveals, and the truth I’ve had to face in my own life: What makes you stand out isn’t what makes you ready. Being externally qualified isn’t what makes you ready to surrender to Christ. And in the end, it’s a surrendered heart that God uses for His glory.
Did God set Saul up for failure by externally qualifying him for what Israel desired, knowing Saul would ultimately be rejected?
No.
And here’s the harder question for us: Is God setting us up for failure when He gives us gifts, opportunities, or qualities that seem to fit what the world wants, knowing they aren’t what make us ready?
No. Like Saul, we’re not set up for failure. We’re given a choice. What we do with those gifts, and whether we submit our hearts, determines the outcome. God isn’t looking for people who simply look the part. He’s looking for hearts that are fully His and submitted to His will.
Saul's life and his ultimate rejection by God is what happens when gifting isn't anchored in surrender. Without submission, our external qualifications and our God-given gifts, talents and abilities are shells to be filled by the world and our own selfish desires.
Just like Saul, our external qualifications, natural gifts, presence and ability...may open doors. But they won’t keep us in the room...or on the throne, in Saul's case, if our hearts aren’t submitted to the One who placed us there.
For Saul, fear, pride and insecurity moved in to inhabit what God was meant to fill. Saul displayed time and again his preference to obey his own will, rather than God's. (See 1 Samuel 13:11–12, 1 Samuel 15:24, 1 Samuel 15:12, 1 Samuel 18:7–9)
Saul's rejection by God was not because he looked like a king, had a great family and was wealthy. His fall was because he didn't submit his heart to God. (1 Samuel 13:8–14, 1 Samuel 15:1–23)
So the 2nd question of The Heart Test is this: As it relates to the matter of your heart... Is your heart submitted to Christ?
I ask you this of your heart...
What natural gifts or qualities do you have that you didn’t earn? (Think: abilities, appearance, background, personality.)
Have you ever relied more on those gifts than on God? When?
What has moved in to inhabit the space God was meant to fill in your heart? Fear? Pride? Insecurity? Greed? Recognition? Something else?
Where in your life are you obeying your will over God’s?
Let's go deeper...
What doors have opened because of your gifting?
Are you staying in those rooms through submission, or through self-effort?
If God removed the outer things that make you stand out, would your heart still reflect His?
Is your heart truly submitted to Christ?
This is the heart work.
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾