Day 234 - Obedience as Worship
Emily Green
“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.’” - 1 Samuel 15:22 NLT
In 1 Samuel 15, Samuel speaks with King Saul about disobeying God. God had given Saul the explicit order to raid the Amalekites and leave no living thing. Instead, Saul kept the best of the livestock alive, wanting to use them as sacrifices and burnt offerings to God.
1 Samuel 15:22 was Samuel’s response to Saul’s train of thought. At first, we may be inclined to think that what Saul did was good. After all, he wanted to have the best of the best to present to God! However, to fulfill that desire, he had to directly disobey God, which meant it wasn’t for God in the first place.
A huge part of living a lifestyle of worship is being obedient to what God says. God speaks to us constantly through the Bible and prayer, and we are responsible for yielding to the Holy Spirit and obeying God’s commands. Remember: Delayed obedience and partial obedience are both disobedience.
When we obey God exactly how He says, right when He says it, we are living a life of true and pleasing worship!
Next Steps
- Think about it: When was the last time you obeyed God? How did it turn out?
- Think about it: Is there an area where you’ve been disobedient? How can you obey God in that area today?
- Action Step: Identify an area where you’ve been disobedient. Ask God to forgive you, then follow through on what He’s spoken to you.