“Does the Lord want entirely burned offerings and sacrifices as much as obedience to the Lord? Listen to this: obeying is better than sacrificing, paying attention is better than fat from rams, 1 Samuel 15: 22 (CEB)
Following up on our last discussion….
We have established that part of our lifestyle of worship is Obedience. Some of us embrace and obey immediately. God bless you, saint, if you are one of those. Some of us have delayed reaction, contemplate, reason it out, then obey. Then there is another breed who obey partially (like me), who in our minds think, “Half obedience is better than not obeying at all.” Oh oh…what warped thinking.
Written by Bee
Be Your Best Self for God seriesAgain, learning some lessons privately during another time of study or hearing the word, God leads me to the final clincher to get the lesson of obedience into not just my head but my heart through the vivid and heart-breaking story in 1 Samuel 15:1-34. Please read it!!
I call the story heart-breaking because like us, with many frailties, insecurities, desire to please others at the expense of what God is saying, King Saul lost his kingdom. Saul was insecure, afraid of his soldiers – what they would say – and ‘diluted’ God’s instructions to him. God asked him to completely and totally destroy the Amalekites and all that belonged to them, take no plunder – in other words, annihilate this nation during war. However in verse 9 we read:
But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs everything that was good.
Like me sometimes, he did 75% of the instruction and even tried to rationalize saying, “The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Hence the famous response from Prophet Samuel:
“Does the Lord want entirely burned offerings and sacrifices as much as obedience to the Lord? Listen to this: obeying is better than sacrificing, paying attention is better than fat from rams, 1 Samuel 15: 22 (CEB)
The sad outcome? Saul was rejected as King and lost the kingdom! His kingdom was given to another (David). Now this was a dramatic incident, but in which ways can we draw parallels to our lives and how we disobey and rationalize God’s instructions, words, leading to us? This is food for thought.
Now I hear some ask as they read, am I perfect at this now? Do I have it all together in this area? Hmm… I still struggle but I am now very aware and constantly vigilant also of the enemy’s devices to ‘help’ me disobey God. As we grow in our walk with God, the truth is our responsibility and God’s expectations of us grow. The beauty is, however, we cannot do it alone by our strength; we don’t have to, as we have the Holy Spirit to daily ask to help us do God’s will… and He does. Thank God we live in a dispensation of grace.
One thing I have learnt and know for sure however –
– I cannot over emphasize this: half obedience is NO obedience at all, even if we believe our actions are ‘righteous’’ and will please God.
– Obeying man, seeking the approval of man over the approval of God never pays in any context.
– The more I pray and desire to do God’s will and obey Him, the easier it gets each time I have to. This is a real experience of grace I tell you. Remember Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6, NIV)
– The more I struggle and disobey or ‘half obey’, the more I lose, with half results or no results but God is so gracious, He gives me other opportunities to master this very important posture every child of God must have – one of obedience.
– The more I obey even when it’s not easy, the more intimate I become with my Father; the more I trust Him and my faith muscles are built. The more I obey (with the help of the Holy Spirit), the more convicted I feel that God can trust me with bigger assignments. Remember, he who is faithful in little will be faithful over much!
No matter what it is, how easy or difficult it may appear, surrender all, and OBEY. It will always be for your good.
Finally again, as with my messages, this may not be for everyone, but if this speaks to your heart, yield unto God:
“Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.” (1 Samuel 15: 22, CEV)
Written by Bee
Be Your Best Self for God series