Obedience is crucial. In the Biblical sense, obey means “to hear God’s Word and act accordingly”. 1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NLT) states, “But Samuel replied,
‘What is more pleasing to the Lord:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, He has rejected you as king’.”
In this verse Saul was rejected as king because he failed to utterly destroy the Amalekites (as God commanded), choosing instead to keep the best of the best for himself, and then chose the best of the things ‘devoted to destruction’ (Hebrew word used here is charam, meaning “to curse, annihilate, or destroy) to sacrifice to God. But God didn’t want his sacrifice, He wanted obedience.
Psalm 51:16 further admonishes us, “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.” How many different ways can God possibly tell us what He really wants? In Deuteronomy 28, God warns us about the consequences of disobedience (sin and death). Depending on which translation you are using, the word ‘obey‘ is found 5-7 times in Deuteronomy 28. Why is the concept of ‘obedience‘ so important to God? Because He loves us and knows that without obedience, there can be no blessing. I am sure all of us want to be blessed and God wants that for us.
How many of us can say “ouch” because at some point in our walk with God He told us to do a particular thing, but we chose to do a portion of that thing? Maybe He told you to make a transition from a job, a relationship, a church, etc., but you stayed because you didn’t want to give up the pay, sever the ties, or hurt someone’s feelings. Let’s be clear. The result of our actions was disobedience to God!
God is not asking us to be perfect, but He is asking us to be obedient. Let’s not continue to blame our decisions on the devil, because the enemy does not know our heart, but he knows our habits. Selah!
I hope you enjoyed this encouraging Word from guest blogger and my dear friend, Delphine Riley. Next week, guest blogger, Eve Perry, is back with a Word about Trusting God. Be obedient and be blessed.
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