Has the Lord Delighted in Sacrifice?

Some scriptures grip your heart so tightly that they leave a lasting imprint on your spirit. For me, 1 Samuel 15:17, 21-23 is one of those passages:

“Has the Lord as great 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.”
Every time I read these words, they pierce me deeply. I see Saul — a man who had no right to the throne, no background or status to qualify him. He was the least man in the least family of the least tribe. Yet God chose him. The Lord’s favor found Saul when he was small in his own eyes, and God raised him to be king over all Israel.

But somewhere along the way, Saul lost that humility. He became familiar with the things of God, and in that familiarity, he made dangerous assumptions. He thought sacrifice could replace obedience.

The Danger of Familiarity

It’s easy to judge Saul, but are we really that different? So often, we convince ourselves that we know what God wants. We start relying on patterns, formulas, and traditions. We say, “This is the way God moved last time, so surely this is how He’ll move again.” But God isn’t bound by our expectations.

Remember Elijah? After the showdown with the prophets of Baal, he fled to the wilderness, desperate to hear God’s voice. And when the Lord passed by, Elijah looked for Him in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire — but God wasn’t in any of them. Instead, He came in a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12).

If Elijah had been set on God speaking through thunder, he would have missed the whisper.

God raises the bar when we get too familiar. Not to frustrate us, but to teach us absolute dependence on His Spirit. We cannot predict Him. We can only obey.

Obedience Over Sacrifice

Saul’s mistake was not just disobedience — it was assuming that a grand gesture could cover for his lack of surrender. God told him to destroy everything in Amalek, but Saul spared the king and kept the best livestock for sacrifice. He thought he was doing something noble. He thought sacrifice would please God more than obedience.

But let me say this plainly:
You cannot steal to tithe and expect God to accept it.
You cannot disobey and expect your offering to make it right.

God’s principle is simple: Obedience. Just do as He says — take nothing away, add nothing to it. As we hear, we obey.

The Weight of Surrender

I experienced this firsthand during a worship meeting I hosted recently. It was a total leading from the Holy Spirit, and I knew I had to prepare spiritually. I started fasting and praying, seeking God’s face for the gathering.

But as the week of the program approached, something unexpected happened. I had a conversation with my pastor about entering into God’s rest. That word shook me. I had planned to push harder — to fast more, to pray more. But instead, the Holy Spirit whispered, “Rest.”

I broke down. My only prayer that week was:
“Holy Spirit, I love You.”

I was exhausted — physically, emotionally, spiritually. I had nothing left to give. But that’s when the Holy Spirit carried me. It wasn’t about my effort; it was about surrender.

Let Go of the Familiar

So many of us believe that for a miracle to happen, we need to follow a formula: Pray like this. Fast like that. Say these words.

But the truth is — we have no ability to do anything for God. We’re too small. Our job is to obey. To let go of the need to understand and control. To stop being familiar with His ways.

Saul lost his throne because he assumed he knew what God wanted. Don’t make the same mistake. Stay small. Stay surrendered. God isn’t looking for grand gestures; He’s looking for hearts that obey.

After all, “To obey is better than sacrifice.”

Stay yielded. Stay dependent. Let the Holy Spirit lead.