“Submit yourselves to every ordinence of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men; As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honor all men. Love the brotherhood Fear God. Honor the king.” 1 Peter 2:13-17
Today’s Christian Daily Devotional
These verses are hard to swallow. Nobody likes the word Submit; let along the MEANING of it! In this day and age, it is very popular complain about the state of the world, our economy and the leaders who seemed to have led us into this mess! By not complaining, it almost feels like we are endorsing the behavior we are not in agreement with. But, as these verses indicate, that is not true. We do not have to agree with our leaders, but we are instructed to honor them. Honoring those that are in authority is honoring God. He knows that it is not easy, and God sees that respect as a gift of sacrifice from our naturally rebellious hearts. This is not an instruction to not fight for your rights—but, you can still do this without compromising your dignity and respect, (despite how low other people are going these days!) This kind of self-control can only happen, if you have the blessing and the power of God working through you. Are you ready for some of that? I am!
“Dear Heavenly Father,
Sometimes when I watch the news, I can feel my blood boil. I know that most of what is going on in the world today, is not good news. It is so hard for me to shut my mouth and not speak negatively about the people who seem to take our country into lower lows. As a citizen, I feel powerless and out of control. That is not a good feeling. Lord, I know from reading your word, that even though that is how I feel, that is not reality. You ultimately are in control. You see the world, and it’s problems on a much bigger scale (and from a much wiser perspective). Sometimes I forget that. Lord, I am going to commit myself to submitting to my local governments and national authorities. I am not saying I agree with them and all of their choices; I am choosing to honor you by honoring them. This means I must do it with a happy heart. Lord, help me! This feels impossible, but I know with you all things are possible. So, Lord, take my rebellious, negative, un-submissive complaining heart and change it. Help me to have the attitudes and mind-sets that will agree with you, do things your way and therefore have the blessing of God upon it. In Jesus’ precious name, for the world to reap the blessings of my little sacrifice, Amen.”
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