Your Daily Devotional for August 15, 2007

 

August 15,  2007

 

 

Unconditional Honor

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

 

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."

 

Ephesians 4:30-32

 

 

Someone once said, "A child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father." Over the past few days we have been focusing on God's Ten Commandments to us as believers. We have learned that He desires to be number one in our lives and that nothing would come between Him and us. We have also learned that we should keep His name holy in every aspect of our lives and that God desires that we renew our spirits in Him each Sunday. Now we see that God wants us to honor the authority in our lives. He has placed them over us for a reason, and we must respect and honor them. Today we will see that God wants us to honor our authority even when they do not do right.

 

It is sometimes difficult to honor authority when the authority's actions are wrong. We are all human and often make mistakes. Even when authority makes mistakes or does not do what is right, we must honor them because God has commanded us to.

 

Jonathan faced the same situation as we see in 1 Samuel 20:32-33, "And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David." Jonathan's father, King Saul, had strayed from the Lord and was seeking to kill David. Even though his father was not following God, Jonathan still honored him. Even when the authority in our lives does not seek to please the Lord, we must honor them.

 

God desires that we would also forgive the authority in our lives when they treat us unfairly. Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." God does not place a guideline on this command! He does not tell us to forgive unless they do a certain thing. He wants us to forgive them no matter what!

 

It can be a difficult thing to forgive someone when we have been wronged. Our human nature tends to hold on to hurt and let bitterness develop in our hearts. But in these situations we must look to our Lord. He was wrongly accused and sentenced by the earthly authority in His life, yet He forgave them. We too must forgive others when we are wronged.

 

There are many different situations and trials that some people face concerning authority, but God desires that we honor and obey them unconditionally. Even when authority is wrong or they choose to neglect the Lord, God desires that we would let His Spirit shine through us by honoring and obeying them.

 

Are you honoring the authority in your life? Some people make excuses for dishonoring authority based on the situations they are in, but God desires that we honor our authority unconditionally. Ask God to give you the grace and strength you need to honor and obey your authority no matter what situation you are in.

 

 

Daily Bible Reading

Psalm 91-93 • Romans 15:1-13

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