Sacrifice Vs Obedience

Throughout the course of this year, I've been reading Psalms each and every morning. If you've spent any time in this longest book of the Bible (if you haven't, shame on you! :) ), you'd know that the writers talk about anything from journeys to Jerusalem to the restoration of the Temple to the Lord's power to prayers to forgiveness, and so on. There are so many good truths to gain from reading this book, but I've found that as I am struggling with something, God's responses to my struggles always stand out as I read His Word. After all, even some of the Biblical greats struggled with things from time to time.

Lately, it's been King David's writing that has spoken to me the most. (I am not talking about the King David from Swaziland, if you read that blog...I am pretty sure he doesn't know how to write). There are a few times in the book of Psalms where David is not doing too well. In Psalm 51 David says to the Lord, "You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not desire a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit." Similarly, in Psalm 40 he says to the Lord "You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings."

I began to wonder what exactly this meant. The Old Testament is chock full of talk on sacrifices. There was a sacrifice for just about everything it seems. David himself lived in the Old Testament days. What sacrifice is it that the Lord doesn't desire? In Psalm 50 God speaks to the wicked people of that day and says that He has "no complaint about your sacrifices or the burnt offerings you constantly offer" but goes on to say that He doesn't need the bulls or the goats or the birds or the cattle.

I thought about all I have sacrificed this year. I've sold most of my belongings and put the others in storage for the year. I thought about all the time I sacrificed before the race to get ready for what was to come, and I thought about all the time I've sacrificed this year on the race. God has given me a servant's heart, so when something needs to get done I am usually the first to volunteer to help out. What I realized though was that in the midst of all this, I was going through the motions instead of turning to God and seeing what He wanted my daily sacrifice to look like. The work will always get done, but when God wants you to spend the day on the mountain with him - well, that's not something you want to miss.

I discovered that God doesn't want me - or anyone, for that matter - to go through these motions. What God wants is not the animal sacrifice, but he wants obedience. He wants us to lay down our lives each and every day and be obedient to Him - to serve and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. God wants us to have the faith to know that He has everything under control, and we don't have to "sacrifice" our time trying to figure it all out. Truth be told, I can look back and see when I have been obedient and when I have not, based on the fruits of my actions - even when the entire time I thought I was sacrificing for God. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we were obedient to Him?



Reference: candle-magic.blogspot.com