Why staying close to Scripture keeps our hearts clear.
One of the quietest and most dangerous patterns in the Christian life is this:
When we stop submitting to God’s Word, we slowly lose our ability to see clearly.
It doesn’t happen all at once. It happens through tiny shifts… small compromises… moments where God’s voice becomes just one voice among many.
Over time, our discernment dulls. Our hearts grow cloudy. Confusion replaces clarity.
And Scripture gives us a painfully vivid example of this in the life of King Saul.
A Little Background: Where This Moment Fits in the Story
To understand the weight of Saul’s story in 1 Samuel 15, it helps to see where he’s come from.
Israel had asked God for a king – not because they needed one, but because they wanted to be “like the other nations.” Even so, God graciously gave them Saul, a man who began his calling with humility. He knew he needed the Lord. He didn’t naturally seek glory. He wasn’t trying to build a name for himself.
For a time, things went well. God empowered him, and Saul led Israel with genuine dependence. But as the chapters unfold, little cracks begin to show. Moments of fear. Impulsive decisions. A growing desire to hold on to control. In 1 Samuel 13, he grew impatient and offered a sacrifice he had no authority to offer. Instead of letting that moment humble him, pride began to settle in.
By the time we reach 1 Samuel 15, Saul’s heart has drifted further than he realises. And this is where everything comes to a breaking point.
Worship Words, Disobedient Heart
God gives Saul a clear command concerning the Amalekites – a command meant not only to judge wickedness but to remind Israel that victory comes through obedience, not strategy, not numbers, not human ingenuity.
Saul obeys… partially.
He spares what seems useful. Keeps the best livestock. Preserves the enemy king. And when Samuel confronts him, Saul immediately dresses the whole thing in religious language:
‘These animals are for sacrificing to the Lord.’ (1 Sam. 15:15)
It’s one of the most revealing moments in his life.
Saul wraps his disobedience in spirituality.
He baptises his rebellion with religious words.
He tries to make partial obedience look like passionate worship.
Many of us know that temptation.
We soften sin with phrases like “God knows my heart” or “I felt peace about it.”
We persuade ourselves that our motives were good.
We cover compromise with a thin layer of religious sincerity.
Samuel sees right through it. And when Saul finally cracks, he admits what’s been going on inside him all along:
“I have sinned… for I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” (1 Samuel 15:24, ESV)
There it is.
Saul knew what God said, but he found another voice more compelling.
That’s when everything changed.
When he let the opinions around him carry more weight than the word above him, his clarity began to unravel. He still believed in God. He still talked about sacrifices. He still looked religious.
But the posture of submission was gone.
His life spiralled, not because he stopped using God’s name, but because he stopped yielding to God’s authority.
And the Same Drift Happens to Us
Saul’s story isn’t a relic of ancient history. It’s a mirror.
We lose clarity when:
● Scripture becomes optional instead of foundational,
● We obey God only when it’s easy,
● We care more about human approval than divine approval,
● We justify compromise by calling it ‘wisdom’ or ‘balance’,
● We use spiritual language to excuse what God calls sin.
Like Saul, we can be sincere… active in ministry… moved by worship… and still be drifting if we’re listening to the wrong voices.
Not because God stops speaking.
But because we stop submitting.
Clarity Comes From Surrender, Not From Trying Harder
The way back to clarity isn’t complicated.
It’s not a spiritual performance.
It’s surrender.
It’s the daily posture of saying:
“Lord, your voice is right – even when mine disagrees.
Your Word is true – even when culture says the opposite.
Your way is good – even when it’s not the easiest path.”
Scripture reminds us:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” – Psalm 119:105 (ESV)
But a lamp only helps if we actually walk in its light.
Saul shows us that God doesn’t want polished religious actions. He wants a submitted heart – one willing to obey fully, not partially; humbly, not selectively.
A Call for Us Today
If we want discernment in a confused world…
If we want wisdom when everything around us shifts…
If we want to see truth clearly and avoid the slow drift into self-deception…
Then we must remain close to God’s Word and keep cultivating a soft, surrendered heart.
Not fearing the people.
Not obeying our impulses.
Not masking compromise with spirituality.
But daily choosing obedience over opinion, surrender over self-will, and God’s voice over every competing voice.
When we abandon His Word, we really do lose our way.
But when we draw near, listen, and submit, even when it’s costly, He lights our path and steadies our steps.
Blessings
Nico