Obedience – A Well-Balanced Meal of Service

“…Obedience is better than sacrifice...” – 1 Sam 15:22 (NLT)

I find that a struggle exists within me between healthy sacrifice and healthy enjoyment in that which God commands. It seems easy to fall away from the proper balance and toward either experience-seeking (doing something because it benefits us or we get enjoyment from it) or begrudging obedience, when we set our faces as flint for pure obedience at full sacrifice of ourselves, but with a sense of self-righteousness and the absence of the joy of the Lord. Honestly, I see most of us erring to the side of the former, following that which we enjoy instead of having obedience as our starting point and guide; however, I believe that God has designed us and His commands to have a good balance of both flavors: sacrifice and joy. This is of course a paradox to the human mind because it is the work of the Holy Spirit who is higher, greater, and not limited by human imperfection.

As I have been recently considering decisions before me, in which I feel called by the Lord to service, I have recognized that it is going to cost me something. And as I wrestle with it all, recognizing that in some ways I look forward to the service because I love it, but in other ways would rather run away like Jonah because of what it could cost me, I feel that the Lord has spoken some truth to me about obedient service of our Lord.

To me, following God in joyful obedience can be illustrated by a well-balanced meal. A well-balanced meal typically consists of a main course (meat or protein), vegetables or other healthy additions as side-dishes, and even some sweet dessert (You might astutely comment that dessert means that the meal is no longer “well-balanced,” but I have included it in the analogy for a reason.). When it comes to decision making and living out our lives for Christ, being poured out as an offering for Him and our fellow man, obedience is the main course…it drives the meal, it is the center-piece for the meal, and it is the impetus for action. God will’s it; therefore, we do it. Let’s not forget who God is and who we are, created in His image for His purposes and His pleasure. Now, when God wills something, He wills it in all love, He wills it in all goodness and righteousness, He wills it in all wisdom and sovereignty, and He wills it in perfection. And because He is God and we are His servants, what He wills, we obey. This is the main course of our meal of service to our Lord.

Even the main course in itself can be analyzed before moving to the side-dishes and dessert. God’s main course of obedience for His will is always seasoned with Himself, a pleasing spice to life. We may have to do some effort, working with our hands to cut through the main course, chewing on it such that we can stomach it, but there is a flavor from God that is joy in the midst of our labors.

And the meal of obedient service to our Lord goes beyond the main course of strict obedience, for there are further joys and further difficulties along the way. First, the difficulties, including repercussions:

As someone who has struggled to find the slightest pleasure in eating many of the vegetables that God has placed on this earth for our nutritious benefit, I relate the consequences of following God and the “grin and bear it” portion of obedience to the vegetable side-dish. You may chuckle here, as I do…and I do enjoy many vegetables (rest easy, Mom, I am eating my vegetables…at least sometimes), but think of that one vegetable that you absolutely can’t stand…the one you wouldn’t eat unless you were forced to. Well, sometimes that vegetable shows up on our plate of obedient service to our Lord. But I have already hinted at the dichotomy of eating such an unpleasant item: God uses it to strengthen and nourish us in a unique way that our main course and certainly our dessert could not do. We must have the spiritual vitamins that are contained within sacrificial obedience to our Lord. It will not always be easy, and in fact, many times it will be hard to obey the Lord. This is because it will cost us something. This is because our circumstances may be less favorable. But God has placed it in front of us as we noted before with all love, goodness, righteousness, wisdom, sovereignty, and perfection…will we not accept what God has handed directly to us? We will, and we must willingly consume that which is nearly unpalatable, such that our souls receive perfectly balanced spiritual nutrition from God Himself.

And finally, our favorite part: dessert. Yes, obedient service to our Lord always comes with dessert. There is a time that is coming, after we have finished our full courses of obedience—the main course, the side dishes and everything else—that we will receive the joyous perspective of God and marvel at such a well prepared meal of service as we delight in all that God has done, is doing, and will do. The joy that flows naturally from the Spirit will be a sweet, sweet dessert to our souls. This sounds like a reference to Heaven, and it is, but it is a reference to the “here and now” on earth, as well.

Psalm 27:13: - “I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (NKJV)

You see, God provides us the sweetest of joys as we grow closer to Him through obedient service, and He does so not only in Heaven, but in the land of the living.

In view of this, it is easy to see how we often get unbalanced in our service. We frequently try to supplant obedience with dessert as the main course. If we live for dessert, we will eat more of it and less of our healthy balanced-meal. Likewise, if we live for experience, driven by our affinities alone, we will become self-seeking, forsaking God’s call. At the same time, we sometimes become so committed to sacrifice that we eat meals of side-dishes alone, and although this can sustain us for a time, we will need some core nourishment of a well-seasoned main course to sustain us. Furthermore, if we have come to a place where obedience has no joy, then we are susceptible to refraining from partaking any longer, starving ourselves of God’s leading because we are wearied in our unbalanced approach to obedience without joy. And so it is important that we remember that obedient service to our Lord is a well-balanced grand feast, in which obedience to His will is central, sacrifice is essential, and the sweetness of joy is our reward and promise. Through the Holy Spirit, obedience and sacrifice are not without joy.

Heb 12:2 - “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (NIV)

I write these things only because I have experienced them and continue to experience them, and every saint that has ever lived has experienced them, as well. Even more significantly, Jesus Himself experienced it, as revealed in Hebrews 12:2, and therefore we must experience it alongside Him as we are sanctified to be one with Christ. Take heart in your present circumstances, accept the main course of obedience, willingly digest the unpleasant sacrifices in side-dishes of nourishment, and anticipate with certain hope the joy of the Lord that will be manifested to you by His Spirit. We could never conceive of this truth, for it goes well beyond human ability, and we could never acquire such a glorious truth, for it goes well beyond human utility. But is a gift of God, and one that He wishes to pour out on you.

“…The joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Neh 8:10

I pray that you take your place at His table, embrace the meal set before you, and offer your life in obedient service to our Lord. May the joy of the Lord be made full in you, and may it be your strength today and forever. Amen.