However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Samuel 24:24 NASB)
Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much 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. (1 Samuel 15:22 NASB)
The Lord told me to write this morning – first day back at work today – and so I am…
I’m not really sure exactly what He wants me to write but the word sacrifice came to mind as I commenced…
Sacrifice…
Giving up something because the Lord has told us to…
Not giving up something because we decide it is a good idea or because we think we have a problem with it but because the Lord has told us to…
I can’t go into details but the Lord told me to sacrifice something part way through 2013 – He warned me that it was coming and then He finally (towards the end of the year) told me to “let it go”…
He also told me towards the end of the year to sacrifice something else – another thing which was precious to me – and I have “let this go” also…
Both these things were “good” things…
Both these things were things which the Lord had told me to do…
And then He told me to “let them go”…
Why?
He is teaching me not to put my trust or my hope or my happiness in the things He tells me to do…
Or to “get comfortable” in them because He can just as easily ask me to do something else… 🙂
I’m “getting it”…
And His peace (and assurance) is with me…
But it isn’t easy – it’s all the people around you who you feel “won’t understand” but the Lord is showing me that it’s “alright” – He has control of who understands and who doesn’t and their call is different to mine and what they need to know is different from what I need to know – I just need to be faithful to Him…
So sacrifice…
Never sacrifice anything because you see you have a problem with it…
Why do you say that Andrew?
Because God has His timing – His lining up “all His ducks” – before He tells us to sacrifice something – and every time He tells us to sacrifice ‘something’ He is releasing us into “something else” – I know this for a fact – I have unshakeable faith on this one – which the Lord is giving me as I type…
Regarding the second verse above – the Lord showed me yesterday that even though Samuel was “late” in coming Saul disobeyed the Lord by completing the sacrifice himself and not waiting for Samuel – the Lord was testing Saul and Saul “failed” the test…
We are to wait until we next hear the Lord’s Voice…
If the Lord says something and then when that time comes that thing does not happen we are to wait until the Lord does complete that thing or release us into something else…
He is testing our hearts…
We are to continue waiting even when He is “late”…
Love you all,
Andrew
a house of prayer for the nations 
Someone searched for this post yesterday and I’ve re-read it this morning…
It has blessed me to re-read it…
What the Lord told me this morning before coming in to work was staggering and re-reading this has really cemented it for me…
To trust Him and keep waiting even when nothing is happening and He doesn’t seem to be doing anything is the only option which pleases Him – this is the difference between Saul and David – the flesh and the Spirit…
The flesh has to make things happen – it is all it knows…
The Spirit can wait – He – the Holy Spirit can wait – He can enable us to wait – for all things which the Lord has promised us – even when He – the Lord – is late – as He was in this instance…
We are to endure – trusting Him and giving Him the benefit of the doubt…
He is testing us – testing our faith – as He did with the issue of Lazarus – testing Mary and Martha’s faith…