Simple Obedience

16 "Enough!" interrupted Samuel. "Let me tell you what God told me last night."
Saul said, "Go ahead. Tell me."
17-19 And Samuel told him. "When you started out in this, you were nothing— and you knew it. Then God put you at the head of Israel—made you king over Israel. Then God sent you off to do a job for him, ordering you, 'Go and put those sinners, the Amalekites, under a holy ban. Go to war against them until you have totally wiped them out.' So why did you not obey God? Why did you grab all this loot? Why, with God's eyes on you all the time, did you brazenly carry out this evil?"
20-21 Saul defended himself. "What are you talking about? I did obey God. I did the job God set for me. I brought in King Agag and destroyed the Amalekites under the terms of the holy ban. So the soldiers saved back a few choice sheep and cattle from the holy ban for sacrifice to God at Gilgal—what's wrong with that?"
22-23 Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God's command, he says No to your kingship. I Samuel 15:16-23 Message Bible

This is one of those times when the Word simply speaks for itself. Let these verses soak in for a few minutes and really think about it. How often do we name off our sacrifices to God thinking He will be pleased with that? It isn't that He isn't pleased with sacrifices, but sacrifices without obedience is like "blowing in the wind". More than anything, God wants us to listen to Him and be obedient to His words. When we do listen to Him, we want to add to His plan. We are so accustomed to pleasing man by doing more and more above what they expect of us, that we think God wants the same. God doesn't want us to "improve" His plan. If He had wanted Saul to keep back some animals to sacrifice to Him, then He would have said so. I believe the men were pleased with Saul's decision to let them do this, but God wasn't.

Sure, it's easy to do a little something extra and say, "what's wrong with that". Sometimes it isn't the act that is wrong, but the intent. We can sacrifice our time, sacrifice our money. We can fast, and we can pray for the rest of our lives. We can do it every minute of every day, but we will never be fruitful until we simply do whatever God is telling us to do.

I saw an amazing lesson in my own life this week. Something that I have prayed about for a couple of years now simply happened without any effort on my part. Why did it happen now? I think because not long ago, I simply told God "I am making myself available if you choose to do this and if you don't, then that's ok, too. Either way, I am not going to do anything on my own except to stand here until you tell me to do something." So, one day He opened the door, called my name, and said go do it.

You see, we spend so much time trying to see results out of our own efforts. We pour and pour ourselves into anything and everything just trying to see what we want to see happen and please the Lord. We exhaust ourselves with our efforts when all we really have to do is draw close to God and obey what He says when we get there. He takes care of the rest all by Himself. God needs a willing vessel. He does not need a consultant team or a manager to tell Him how it should be done. Open yourselves up today to the Lord's voice and simply obey. That is all He asks.

Father, open up our ears today. Let us Hear your voice and follow it. Help us to not try to "improve upon" or alter your plan. If you say take one step, help us to take just one and not two. Help us to understand that your ways are not our own, but they are perfect. Give us the wisdom to pour ourselves into the things you ask us to, to receive when you give us the opportunity, to go when you say go, and to stop when you stay stop. In Jesus Name- Amen