When you were Little in Your own Eyes

Good morning friends.

Today we're in 1 Samuel 15. And if I had to sum it all up it would be, almost obeying is still disobeying. Almost doesn't count!

   God gave Saul a clear instruction. It wasn’t confusing or open for interpretation. A clear, straightforward, instruction.

         And Saul did most of what God said.

                                    Most.

He won the battle. Defeated the enemy. But he kept what God told him to destroy. And when Samuel confronted him, Saul immediately started making excuses.

"The people kept the animals."

"We were going to sacrifice them to the Lord."

                    Excuse after excuse.

And then Samuel tells him something big that we've all heard a hundred messages on I'm sure, "To obey is better than sacrifice."

    God wasn't asking Saul for more worship. He wasn't asking for more religious activity. He was asking for obedience. I think a lot of us can relate to that. Sometimes It's easier to do something for God that we want to do than it is to simply do what He said. It's easier to stay busy than it is to surrender. It's easier to explain our disobedience than repent of it

   But the verse that hit me the hardest this morning wasn't actually "To obey is better than sacrifice." It was when Samuel said:

"Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?" Some translations say "When you were little in your own eyes"

   Saul started out humble. When he was first called, he was hiding among the baggage. He knew he needed God. He wasn't trying to build a platform. He wasn't trying to protect an image. He wasn't trying to prove himself.

    But somewhere along the journey, Saul got a little too big for his britches.

The man who once hid among the baggage is now building a monument to himself. The man who once depended on God now depends on his own judgment. The man who once asked, "Who am I?" now acts like he knows better than the One who called him.

    That's how pride works. It doesn't show up all at once. It creeps in slowly. One compromise. One excuse. One moment where we begin trusting our own wisdom more than God's instructions. Then before long, we've gotten a little too big for our britches too.

    I think that's the warning hidden inside this chapter. Being little in your own eyes is not insecurity. It's humility. It's understanding that everything you have, everything you've accomplished, every door that's opened, every victory you've experienced came from God. The moment we start believing we're the source instead of the steward, we're in dangerous territory.

   Pride doesn't usually show up waving a flag saying here i am. It shows up quietly. It convinces us we know better. That our way is close enough. That partial obedience is acceptable. But God isn't looking for people who will almost obey. He's looking for people who will stay little in their own eyes and fully surrendered in their hearts.

   That's why I never want to lose the wonder of being chosen by God. I never want to get so comfortable with the calling that I forget the one who called me.

Lord, keep us little in our own eyes and big in faith.

Love Pastor Mandy

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading 1 Samuel 15