📖 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."
1 Samuel 15:23
Rebellion often begins in the hidden places of the heart, where pride and fear whisper that our way is safer than God’s. Saul, Israel’s first king, learned this with painful consequence. He chose partial obedience, which is disobedience in God’s sight, and Samuel spoke the sobering truth: rebellion is as serious as witchcraft.
The Hebrew word for “rebellion” (meri) carries the sense of resistance, a deliberate push against God’s authority. In contrast, obedience (shama) means “to listen attentively, to heed.” How fitting that this word shama is the same root used in the Shema prayer: “Hear, O Israel:
📖The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” — Deuteronomy 6:4.
To hear is to love, to heed, and to obey.
In my own journey, God has been tenderly teaching me the art of listening with the heart — not rushing to speak, not resisting His leading, but receiving His whisper with humility. Just as I reflected on the five levels of listening, true obedience requires us to move beyond distraction or self-focus, into the sacred space of presence with God.
Rebellion shuts ears; love opens them. Stubbornness closes hands; compassion extends them. Obedience is not a chain but a freeing alignment with the One who loves us.
Reflection:
Where have I resisted God’s voice out of fear or pride? 🤔
How can I practise shama — listening with my heart — in my daily walk with Him and with others? 🤔
What does obedience look like for me in this season? 🤔
Life Application:
Today, practise attentive listening. When someone speaks, pause before answering — let your heart lean in. When God nudges, act swiftly, even in small things. Obedience is a muscle strengthened in the daily, ordinary moments.
Affirmation:
I am not bound by rebellion but freed by obedience. My heart blooms skyward, aligned with God’s love and truth.
Creative Prompt:
Take a journal page and draw two columns: one titled “Resistance” and the other “Surrender.” In each, sketch or write words, colours, or images that express what rebellion feels like and what obedience feels like. Notice how your heart responds as you create.
Closing Prayer:
Father, forgive me for the times I have resisted Your voice. Teach me to shama — to listen with my heart and walk in Your ways. Strip away stubbornness and pride, and clothe me with humility and trust. Let my obedience not be a burden, but a bloom rising to Your light. Keep me steadfast, tender, and courageous in Your love. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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