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

There’s nothing more woeful than a Christian who lives without God’s miracles, power, or blessings. There’s nothing sadder than a Christian stuck in the middle between God and secularism. You do the bare minimum: you go to church on Sundays. You don’t lie, cheat, or steal. You do just enough to get by as a Christian but not enough to inspire. You’re not bold enough to completely forsake God, and you’re not committed enough to devote your life to God. You’re stuck somewhere in the middle.

Wandering in this middle ground, you don’t do enough to receive God’s blessings, and the minimal Christian things you do hold you back in the world. You’re not ruthless enough to use any means necessary to succeed. You have enough Christian conscience to know if you turn your back on God, He will somehow punish you. You are in limbo, dangling between God and the world. You don’t turn your back on God, but you don’t do enough to receive God’s miracles and blessings.

Many of us are in this exact situation. We feel guilty or fear God will somehow penalize us for forsaking or denying Him, but we lack the faith or will power to do enough to receive His blessings. We need to be all-in regarding God and faith. How do we do this? How do we open the faucet to all His wondrous blessings and miracles? How do we jump off the middle ground and side with God? We receive His miracle and blessing through cheongjong or listening to the Word of God and obeying!

Only when we listen and obey can God help and lift us. “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God…” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2) Find the commands he gives us today and obey them! Find what God is asking us to do at this very moment, and do it!

We are believers. To thrive, we need God’s miracles and blessings. To receive His blessing, we must listen and obey. It doesn’t take money or power. We must devote our minds, bodies, and strength to listening and obeying His Word. If we do this, God will protect us and set us “high above all the nations on earth.” Listening and obeying will solve all our financial problems. Listening and obeying will make us better students. It will help our businesses thrive. It will cure our illnesses. When tossed into a lion’s den, listening and obeying will ensure our safety! Listening and obeying are the ways out of all our hardships and distresses.

Listen and obey!
Miracles come when we listen and obey!
Blessings come when we listen and obey!
God helps us when we listen and obey!

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