Day 14

Day 14 of Your Journey
Submission Requires Active Faith

There are very few times in Scripture where Jesus compliments someone. One of these is found in Matthew 8:5-13.

The Bible says that Jesus marveled at the centurion. That alone is amazing, that the Son of God would marvel at anyone.

Jesus then says of him, “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel” (v. 10 NASB). What was the key to this faith the centurion possessed? It was his understanding of what it meant to be under authority (v. 9).

Responding and submitting to authority is one of the greatest challenges of the Christian life. In our submission we learn to trust God’s sovereign control over all things. God asks us to trust that He will use even ungodly leaders to accomplish His purposes. This is hard because it goes against our natural inclination to try to control our life.

Whether in our marriage, job, family, or church, God gives us the opportunity to learn submission. This earthly submission then gives us the faith to submit to God as He works in our lives.

Make no mistake, you will not grow in faith while you resist God-given authority. We cannot say we are in submission to God while rebelling against earthly authorities.

Our one exception, of course, is if we are asked to violate Scripture. Then we have a higher authority to obey. This, however, is rarely the case. We will find that most of the issues we struggle with will simply involve dying to our will or preference.

Making It Personal

Are there any authorities you find yourself resisting, in action or attitude? Each one provides an opportunity to learn submission to God. Take a moment to confess your sin to God, and then place yourself once again under that authority.