The weirdest testimony of faithfulness I’ve read: “As a result of her years of labor, a tribe of cannibals stopped eating their visitors, no longer killed twin babies, became believers in Jesus, and elevated her to the level of magistrate within their community.”
I learned a lot of valuable lessons on submitting to authority as an intern. I was in and then graduated from Bible college and I thought I knew everything. Many thoughts of “If only I were in charge” flooded my immature mind about how great things would be if everyone else simply stepped aside and let me take over. What a foolish way to think. I remember how frustrated I would get over insignificant things.
But my role was to support my leaders. It didn’t matter if I thought something could be done a better way; if I offered a suggestion that wasn’t heeded then my job was to submit and follow what I was instructed. Being loyal and faithful to my leaders has helped me overcome my issues with pride, and thinking I know best. If I have to wrestle with what to do, my loyalty to submitting to leadership is stronger than my pride in doing what I want. I believe that’s a result of having great leaders whom I have been able to study under.
The woman from the opening paragraph was told not to marry. The missions organization wanted her and the other person to stay on their own respective fields. What if they had bucked the authority, married, and left the field? An entire tribe on cannibals would never have been won to Jesus! When you live for God, it really doesn’t matter what you think, or how you feel about something. God speaks through authority. If I had done what I wanted in the past, instead of submitting to authority, I can’t imagine where I would be today. Thanks to the leaders in my life who helped make it easy for the most part to submit to their leadership. It’s not in my nature, but it is in God’s.
Written by Sean
Topics: Sean's Blog