Making the Best Choice to Obey

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22

Have you ever hit that point where you could choose to obey God’s word or do what you want for yourself? Sometimes we choose to obey and at other times, we choose our desires over God’s commandments. Saul was commanded by God to destroy everyone and everything associated with the Amalekites. Yet, when he was given the choice, he chose to destroy everything that was despised and saved everything that was good. He reasoned with Samuel that his intentions were to sacrifice the good stuff to God.

However, God wasn’t interested in Saul’s sacrifice—he wanted the king’s complete devotion to obedience. By failing this test of obedience, Saul’s heart was revealed to be more in tuned with gaining favor for himself than to gain the favor of God. As a result, he was rejected as king.

Just like Saul, we are given opportunities to choose obedience or not. If we choose to obey even if there’s pain in the decision, we can experience God’s presence of peace and grace. If we choose to disobey, we will sense the conviction of the Spirit about our decision. We may not always initially make the right choices and God may give us grace for a season. However, if we consistently choose disobedience, we will be disciplined by God because He loves us too much to let us get away with it.

Practicing obedience to God and His word sets us up for the most success in our lives. We may not always have everything have worldly value as a result. However, we will experience greater internal and external blessings of God’s favor on our lives. Obedience results in knowing God’s will for our lives and walking in His presence.