Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23

Saul abandons the Lord’s specific direction by not destroying all of the Amalekites and their property, choosing instead to spare the best livestock and property. Samuel confronts Saul. Although Saul’s real motivations are greed and desire, he rationalizes that he kept the spoils to sacrifice them to the Lord. Ultimately, Saul does not listen and disobeys the Lord’s direction, and, in turn, the Lord rejects him from being king.

From this passage, understand there is the law that follows the direction of the Lord and the law that follows everything else that is not the Lord. The only thing the Lord seeks from us is to LISTEN and OBEY His direction, His law, and His Word. While we can fast, pray, sacrifice, and perform all kinds of grandiose actions, it means nothing to the Lord if we do not listen and obey at our core. When we refuse to listen and obey, the devil and our selfish motives drive our actions just as they did Saul’s, not our desire to follow the Lord. More importantly, if we listen and obey Him, the Lord will never abandon us first. The Lord abandons Saul after he abandons the Lord’s law and breaks his contract with the Lord. Similarly, God abandons us only after we betray Him. When we do not listen and obey the Lord at our core, we are in opposition to the Lord. When we listen and obey, we host the Lord in our souls, minds, and bodies. The Lord exists in us and all around us. When the Lord is One with us, and we follow His direction, He protects us and prohibits evil from touching us.

How do we understand the Lord’s direction? How do we listen and obey? It is impossible for us to understand the meaning of the Lord completely. However, finding his direction can also be easy and natural if we first focus on what we know and understand. We must begin by listening and obeying the most basic precepts we know to be the Lord’s. Focus on what you know to be right. Through reading and listening to the Word of the Lord, we learn something. Then listen and obey accordingly! Step by step, little by little, we will find and gain more understanding of the Lord’s purpose and direction.

We cannot obtain the knowledge of the Lord’s direction through our wisdom, through the scholarly pursuits of this world. These methods will make finding the Lord’s direction impossible. We experience success in everything we pursue in this world when we first listen and obey the Lord’s direction because the Lord will be with us. Great people like David, Joseph, Samuel, and Daniel listened and obeyed, which allowed them to overcome great obstacles and achieve great things.  If you listen and obey, the Lord will provide you with more than you need.  Moses learned all that the Egyptian scholars had to offer but used none of it when he successfully led the Israelites through the Exodus. There is nothing that cannot be achieved through listening and obeying the Word of the Lord.  Logic, science, common sense, human perspectives, desires, instincts, and secular knowledge block and inhibit us from listening and obeying the Lord’s guidance just as it did Saul.

Finally, when we listen and obey, be cautious of two things. First, we must dedicate 100% of ourselves to listening and obeying the Lord. Remember what happened to Ananias and Sapphira who refused to forfeit their wealth to follow their faith? We encounter setbacks because we do not dedicate ourselves entirely to listening and obeying the Lord. Second, we should not pray for specific desires or the timing of those wishes as a condition of listening and obeying. As soon as we begin to seek specific things – a position, wealth, or title- our selfish desires betray us. Nor should we expect for something to happen by a specific day or time.

Entrust everything to the Lord!
Don’t be concerned with what and when we receive His blessings!

Doing so becomes an idol for us. Instead, only focus on listening and obeying the Lord’s direction step by step.

Summary
1. We must LISTEN and OBEY the Lord’s direction.
2. We seek and find the Lord’s direction step by step by first focusing on what we know and understand.

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