Obedience to God Means Moving Before You Understand
- meetgodattheedgeof
- May 18
- 3 min read
1 Samuel 15:22-23
[22] 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. [23] Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”
What a painful lesson and reminder for Saul. I can imagine how he must have felt when he finally realized he really messed up. God gave him a direct order to wipe out the Amalekites, and it must have been pretty tough for Saul to see all those good animals and things he was supposed to destroy. “Why waste all this good stuff? A good steak dinner sounds great.” Of course Saul played it off as, “I was going to sacrifice them to the Lord!” Maybe. As we know from reading the rest of this passage, it didn’t even matter what he was going to do with them. He forgot the most important part: obedience to God.
Even though I like to think I would obey, I can honestly say I’ve done something similar before. I’ve been called or felt led to do something and tried to change it into a more comfortable situation or task. I mean, I know a better way to do it… right? This makes me cringe now when I think about it.
God sometimes pushes us into uncomfortable situations or puts us in touch with people we might not normally encounter or even want to. We often don’t know why at the time, but it’s all part of the journey. We grow, and that life is touched in the process. What we need to focus on is obedience to God in that moment, not after we’ve had time to think about it and wrap our head around it. Especially when it comes to talking to people or helping people the Lord has put on your heart. It happened at that moment for a reason.
I remember a time I was in the middle of a church service and I felt the Lord say, “Text your brother from another mother, he needs encouragement.”
The reason this stands out to me is the struggle between my understanding and obedience. It’s rude to pull out my phone and text someone during service. “What if someone sees and I distract them?” I prayed about it and felt it even stronger, so I pulled out my phone. Luckily I was at the back, so I wasn’t directly in anyone’s line of sight. I prayed and sent him a scripture the Lord led me to along with an encouraging note from me.
I didn’t hear back from him until a day or two later. But the moment my text arrived, he was deep in prayer asking the Lord for encouragement that he desperately needed. He was really down, and the Lord wanted to lift him up — and I was chosen to do it. If I had let my own understanding take over and waited things out, it wouldn’t have had the same impact. That moment reminded me that obedience to God often needs to happen immediately, even when it doesn’t make sense to us.
When God calls us, we need to move. That can mean a step of faith or a step toward that person you’re called to talk to. Obedience is the answer.
Thank you, Father, for one more day. Amen
Psalms 119:57-60
[57] Lord, you are mine! I promise to obey your words! [58] With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. [59] I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. [60] I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.
