I received a holy head thump the other day as I was reading through 1 Samuel. Saul had been made king and was given clear instructions by God to destroy the Amalekites leaving no person or animal alive. But Saul did it his way… he did kill the men, women, and children but captured their king and kept the best of the livestock. The Lord was dismayed at Saul’s lack of obedience and said He regretted making him king.
I don’t know about you, but that hits me where I live! I regrettably think back to how many times I have been “mostly obedient” to God’s instructions. I pick and choose which commands apply to me, and which ones don’t. I follow most of the instructions, but they are subject to my own interpretation. I bend the rules to fit the direction I prefer to go. Honestly, it’s not done with poor intent – I rarely notice I’ve only “mostly obeyed”.
Obedience takes effort! To fully obey we have to believe, sacrifice, and trust:
Believe
We have the gift of God’s written word to confirm the instructions we receive through the Holy Spirit. We are able to lay those instructions down against the ruling measure of His divine truth. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever – He has proven throughout history that He has a greater plan for our lives. It is easier to walk in obedience when you believe in the One who gave the instructions.
Sacrifice
Obedience comes with a cost! The cost may be something we know, and love will be taken from us, our physical or mental discomfort, or even the death of our own personal dream. Obedience shows we want God more than we want those other things. God sacrificed His Son for us, what are we willing to give up for Him?
Trust
God’s ways are not our ways! When He is asking us to say or do something outside of our comfort zone, He has a plan for it. God does ALL things for our good and His glory, even when we don’t understand. He calls us to follow Him and be ALL IN for His plans and purposes. Our level of obedience reflects our level of trust in Him. Oh… read that again. Our level of obedience reflects our level of trust in God. We cannot trust halfway, so we must not allow our obedience to be halfway either.
Jesus didn’t “mostly obey” when it came to giving His life for ours, now it’s our turn to use that gift to fully obey as well. God’s plan for us is greater than we can think or imagine. But as Saul learned, we can grieve Him when we decide to “mostly obey” and we lose out on all God has planned. Let’s decide to go ALL IN… together!
Be blessed,
Jennifer
“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’” Luke 11:28