Obedience, Not Perfection

"And Samuel said, '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 listen than the fat of rams.'" - 1 Samuel 15:22 
  
We tend to think that God uses the people who seem to have it all together. The ones who look righteous, who know the right words to say, and who have a clean track record. But God doesn’t see things the way we do. He’s not focused on how polished you appear on the outside. What God is looking for is simple: obedience. He’s more concerned with whether you’ll follow Him, no matter what, than with how "qualified" you seem to others.

Many people miss out on God’s calling, not because they aren’t good enough, but because they aren’t willing to give up their own plans and ideas to follow Him. They hesitate when God asks them to step out of their comfort zone, to let go of their security, or to say yes when it doesn’t make sense. And in that hesitation, they miss the opportunity to do something incredible with Him.  

Obedience doesn’t always look glamorous. Sometimes it means saying yes when you don’t have all the answers or trusting God when the path forward seems unclear. It’s easy to assume that God only uses those who are perfectly prepared, but throughout Scripture, we see the opposite. God used people who were messy, who made mistakes, and who didn’t have the best track record. The one thing they had in common was a willingness to follow God wherever He led them.
 
Think of people like Moses, who doubted his ability to speak, or David, who was an unlikely choice for king. It wasn’t their righteousness or perfection that set them apart. It was their willingness to say yes to God.  

What about you? Are you ready to follow God, even if it means letting go of what feels safe? Are you willing to give Him anything and everything, trusting that He can use your obedience to do far more than you can imagine? It’s not about how well you’ve lived up to your own expectations or anyone else’s. It’s about whether you’ll say yes when He calls.
 
God can do amazing things through you, but it starts with obedience. Your past doesn’t disqualify you, and your mistakes don’t define you. What matters is your heart and your willingness to follow Him, no matter where He leads. When you choose obedience, that’s when God can truly use you to do something incredible for His kingdom.