There is a small passage in the Bible that has stood out to me for years:

“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.’”~Samuel 15:22

While we no longer live in an era of animal sacrifices to atone for our sins (thank you Jesus), this verse is still applicable. God desires obedience from us. It is a beautiful offering. We live in a world that jokingly encourages, “it is better to ask forgiveness than permission,” and we are tempted to exchange the truth for a lie. We find ourselves drawn to living for momentary pleasures, and forsake pursuing the enduring beauty of a disciplined life.

When I knowingly sin against my Lord, I shamefully think to myself, “I can ask forgiveness for this,” which really means that I am choosing disobedience now and then beg for forgiveness later. Oh the conviction that floods over me when I put off obedience and choose to sin. This passage in 1 Samuel has opened wide my eyes. God desires that we obey His commands. Why disobey and lament later? Don’t I know that He loves me? Don’t I know that He desires relationship with me, not the disconnection that disobedience brings? Don’t I see how hurtful my sin really is?

These are the questions I find myself going over and over again in my mind and heart. Let me tell you, friends, it is EXHAUSTING. However, when I am choosing spiritual discipline (reading the Word of God and speaking with him in prayer) light begins to shine on the disobedient heart. As a mother of three I deal with disobedience daily, and when I draw near to my Savior, it becomes quickly apparent that the misbehaviors of my children offer a glimpse into my own heart. However, on days when I have gotten “behind” and “have no time” to spend dedicated to Christ, I become blinded by my sins. When I am blinded by my own sins, I become infinitely more frustrated with the sins of my children, because my heart is not properly oriented. I become quick to forget that I am just as sinful as my three children combined toward my heavenly Father who knows and loves me.

The Lord teaches me much about my own sinful heart by allowing me to see the same rebellion in my children. It amazes me how hurt or insulted I feel when I am sinned against. When my kids do not obey me, and I am not close to Christ myself, I forget how offensive my sins are towards God, and I lose sight of how obedience to Him is GOOD for me. I forget it is one of the ways I show my love for Him.
Readers and friends, I want to challenge you with this. If you claim Christ as your Lord and Savior, please do not use him as a genie in a bottle, only asking favors of him or complaining to him. He is so much more than that. Please consider the importance of obedience to the perfect Father in your daily life decisions. Who better to trust and obey than the One who loves you and has given His all to claim you as his own? I am motivated by this challenge myself, and I pray that choosing obedience will bring you into deeper relationship with Him.

Britney Bradley loves being a wife to her loving husband, Brian. She is mother to 3 girls (so far) Ruby, Cora, and Lily, as well as auntie to 8, and friend to many. She has always dreamed about marriage and motherhood, and is now navigating God’s will each and every day in these realms. She enjoys writing when she gets a chance, and of course, coffee.