Obedience

"To obey is better than sacrifice."  I Samuel 15:22

"Be careful to obey so that it may go well with you..." Deuteronomy 6:3

Obedience is such a big word.  We want our children to obey us.  If we have people under our leadership at work or even at church, we want them to be willing to do as we ask.  We say that we want to obey God.  But are we really obeying Him?  I mean really obeying Him when He asks us to do something, no matter if it is big or small.  What about when He asks us to give something up?  Are we willing to obey then?

In the past few years I have not been much of a tv watcher.  There just is not much on that entertains me enough to want to sit down and watch.  However, there was one show that I became addicted to.  I say addicted because I watched every week.  I would schedule things around this show.  If for some reason I just had to miss it, I would make sure to record it and watch the minute I got home.  I watched this show for several years and everyone knew how much I loved it.  One night while watching, God gently whispered to me, "You need to give this up."  He whispered this to me while watching for several weeks, because I was that hard headed about it.  He wanted me to give it up because I had become so addicted to it.  I made sure not to miss the show, but was I putting the same effort into my time with Him? No, I wasn't.  It is not that the show itself was necessarily bad, but I was putting so much of myself into it.  At first it was a struggle and I hated missing this program.  But giving it up for my Savior was well worth it!

Is God asking you to give something up?  Maybe it is something that has been hindering your walk with Him.  Maybe it is something you are depending on more than you are depending on God.  Or maybe God is simply trying to "clear the clutter" from your life.  Whether it is giving up a tv program or tv all together, stepping away from one video game or all video games, walking away from an unhealthy relationship or embracing a new relationship.  Whatever it is, no matter how big or how small, remember that when we fully obey God, He will bless us.