sacrifice of obedience

Psalm 40:6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;          My ears You have opened.          Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.  7 Then I said, "Behold, I come;          In the scroll of the book it is written of me.  8 I delight to do Your will, O my God,          And Your law is within my heart."   I don't think I had ever thought of obedience as a sacrifice before reading Psalm 40 this morning.  But as I think about it, obedience is one of the "ultimate" sacrifices a human being can make.  Our nature is to want to do it "our way".  We are proud private people who want to "stand on our own two feet" and be masters of our own destiny.  We may have even come to know the Lord in a personal way, but we often leave Him out of the picture.  It seems that we must make a conscious choice to follow His lead...or else we will naturally follow our own way.  It is odd that, given a choice between our limited and flawed ways and the "paths of righteousness" held out by the Lord, we often choose wrong.  I suppose that, like David, the answer comes when obedience has become a delight and God's word and ways have found a home in our hearts.  Laying down self and taking up the Savior is a sacrifice that leads to blessing.   Psalm 40:4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,          And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.   blessings, Rob Smith