I am defying the order of themes and topics for the Love Revolution series to discuss the topic of authority. Today is November 4, 2020. It is one day after the election, and we still do not know the results of the presidential election. Our country has endured a pandemic, race riots, and atrocities of all kinds. We seem to be living in a time when people are seeking answers to questions that speak to the heart and soul of the nations. Who is in control? Governments fight for control as leaders look for votes. Today I was so tempted to go back to business as usual, until the Lord reminded me that He is still in control. He is to be worshipped and adored above all else. You see for the children of God, it does not matter who is president. We only need to know and understand that God himself is the governing authority over our lives. His thoughts about you and me are for good and not evil. He states in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
I put on some worship music, and I started to thank Him for having the final authority over my life. I am not at all worried about the elections. How should Christians react once the president is elected? What do we do if the person that we voted for does not win? In preparation, I began to look up various scriptures on authority. The first scripture is found in Romans 13:1, ” Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” As much as we don’t want to believe this, the appointment of leaders is an act of God. We must believe this because it is in the word of God. So if a candidate that you did not support gets into office, pray for that leader. We all complain about the government, myself included, but what would happen if all of those complaints turned into prayers? I believe that God would honor our prayers, and do something wonderful in our country unlike this nation has ever seen.
We must obey authorities, but we must more importantly honor God. Matthew 28:18 states, “And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” Why should we worry about the president when Jesus himself has stated that He has all authority in heaven and earth? Once again, I choose to believe the bible. I pray that there are no laws that are intentionally written to tear down me or my family (we must remember to continually pray), but the Lord has given his children the keys to the kingdom. In Matthew 16:19 it states, “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. We must know and understand our spiritual authority in Christ!
The next question that came to my mind is, “What happens if leaders begin to create laws that are contrary to God? In Acts 5:29, Peter says “We must obey God rather than men.” Ideally, if you are obedient to God, then you are obedient to authority, but should those in authority ask you or I to do something that is contrary to the word of God, then we are to obey God. We see this in the case of Daniel. Daniel was exceptional in his conduct. They were not able to find corruption in him. King Darrius wanted to put Daniel in charge. The governors and satraps went to the King to influence him to make a decree that whoever petitions another god or man for thirty days except for the King will be cast into the lions dens. This was an evil law. The Kings had no idea that the governors and satraps had planned these evil things. Daniel went into his upper room to pray. Well, all of Daniels accusers went to tell the King what they saw and heard. The King had no choice but to place Daniel in the lion’s den. This is when our God, the God of heaven and earth began to work. God shut the mouths of the lions. What a miracle! You see, God is ultimately in control. When we walk with the Lord, we too have authority in heaven and on earth. Eventually, the tables turned on everyone of Daniel’s accusers. They were thrown into the lion’s den and eaten.
God’s ways are higher than our ways. Not only that, but earthly or heavenly authority does not come easy. The bible says in Hebrews 13:17, “Obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Every leader has to give an account. Eventually we will all have to give an account of and for our actions, but leaders do not only give an account of themselves, they must give an account for all of the people who are under them. It does not pay to mess with God’s anointed ones. We see this in 1 Peter 2:18-20, “Servants be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it: if you sin and are beaten for it you endure? But when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God.”
Lastly, we are not to take the law into our own hand. In Exodus 21, we see what happened under the law when wrong was committed to a brother or a sister. The thought was and eye for an eye an a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus changed that entire concept, He stated that If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. This is a hard concept to understand and follow. You see, the Lord knew before you were born that you would face trials and tribulations, but the power of the cross is that Jesus himself faced worse. When we go through persecution for the sake of the cross, we are to count it all joy, knowing that the trial of our faith works patience. The scripture in James 1:2-4 goes on to say, “But let patience have her perfect work that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” I believe that this is what God desires for his children.