Authority

I have felt compelled for a while now to write a devotion on one of my stumbling blocks to my faith walk - submission to authority.

Submitting myself to God’s authority is my desire and I pray that God helps me to accomplish this. However, I catch myself often questioning why God does what he does. It is not defiance by any means but a looking towards myself first and second to God (instead of the other way around which I know is better). I guess this is an indirect defiance. Not meant to be intentional, but then this is where I battle my flesh.

There are many examples given in the Bible of things that go against what the world tells us. 

Here is an example

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” - Matthew 18:1-6 ESV

And another example…

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” - John 13:1-5

And another one…

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.” - Ephesians 5:22-28

The world would say that all these examples and many more show a complete lack of understanding of how the world works.  I believe the devil wants to encourage us to shake off God’s laws and direction in an attempt to be god like in our own sinful nature. The fact is that God does want us to rule by submitting to him - confessing and repenting of our sins and taking up our cross daily and following him.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” - Matthew 16:24-26

Only by changing what we want from our sinful selfish nature to what God wants will we ever find true peace and contentment.  The choice is yours…

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” - Romans 5:1-5