April 12, 2022

But Samuel replied:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

1 Samuel 15:22

Devotional

In chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, Saul has sinned in the eyes of the Lord. Instead of completely destroying the Amalekites, he spared King Agag. When commanded to kill all livestock, he ransacked the best. Once the battle was over, he built a monument to glorify his own greatness and then approached Samuel as though he had completely followed through with the Lord’s instructions.
 
In response to his disobedience, the Lord rejects Saul as King and no longer favours him. Saul is then left to deal with the consequences. From the surface, this may seem like a harsh punishment in the wake of minor disobedience. But this disobedience was not minor. There was so much more under the surface.
 
Saul spared King Agag out of fear, potentially hoping future foreign powers would show him the same curtesy. He saved the livestock not out of reverence for the Lord, but to gain the approval of the men in his army. In his pride, he built a monument to himself after the battle, giving himself the full glory and praise.
 
This is not obedience. We only truly become obedient to the Lord when we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice. The purest form of worship is to give our will, our control, our fears, and our hope over to the almighty God. The Lord had no interest in sacrifices from Saul when he was unwilling to give himself fully over to the Lord’s will and commands. Remember that our Savior echoes these sentiments himself in Matthew 16:24-26 when he said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
 
We all have areas in our lives where obedience to the Lord is a challenge. May we learn from the lesson of Saul and recognize that true obedience is a form of worship, and we fully live when we fully surrender to God.

For Reflection

What areas of your life cause you to struggle to obey God?
 
What keeps you from fully obeying the Lord? Fear of the responses from others? Fear of losing control? Fear of the unknown?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, Help us to worship you and offer you our full obedience. In moments when we withhold our will, our trust, and our control, remind us that we live fully in you when we die to ourselves. Amen.