“The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” Proverbs 21:1
People always complain whenever they are frustrated and dissatisfied with their leaders. Oftentimes we complain about their ineffective and unwise decisions. We always complain about their promises which never happened. As I read my Bible, the children of Israel followed this pattern. They always complain and they are always dissatisfied with their condition. They always blame Moses and thought that his leadership was ineffective to them. And I wonder how stressful Moses was during that time.
When Daddy told me that He hates people who always complain, I was like “Oh Daddy I always complain to You...” And He said that it is why He wants me to read the Old Testament and how His own chosen people rebelled to Him many times. The Israelites always complain to Moses. Moses was God’s appointed leader. Whenever the Israelites complained to Moses and whenever they hated Moses, it was God whom they hated. Daddy is the one who appointed all our leaders whether it is in our country, in government, in an organization, or in our church. So whenever we become disrespectful to them, we are being disrespectful to GOD.
Here in the Philippines, it is normal to see rallies of people in different places. They always complain with the elected leaders. Our country is a democratic one so people are free to say what they want to say. In the news it is usual that we can watch the people walking in the streets with their placards and pictures of the President or other officials being mocked. It is only now that Daddy revealed to me that it is wrong to disrespect and mocked our leaders.
“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. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.” Romans 13:1-2
Every person is to be subject to authorities because God has appointed all governing authorities in our life. We must obey men in authority because God’s authority is upon them. Oftentimes, people are willing to submit themselves to God but unwilling to submit to delegated authority. When we don’t submit ourselves to authorities then we are not submitting ourselves to GOD. We must always remember that it is God who appointed those authorities so we must always honor them and respect them.
Many will ask “How about those evil leaders? Are they appointed by God? Are they worthy of respect?” The answer is yes. All authorities are appointed by God, even the evil leaders. If they are appointed by God, we must respect them just as we respect God. One example of this is the Pharaoh, ruler in Egypt. Under his authority, the Israelites were brutally treated. But according to Scriptures, “God raised up the Pharaoh.” This means that God is the one who appointed him. And because it is God who appointed him, God has the control over the Pharaoh. We can also read that “God hardened the heart of the Pharaoh so he will not let the people go.”
Whether our leader is good or harsh, his heart is still in God’s hand. “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” Proverbs 21:1 So whether the king (leader) is bad, the LORD is always in control of him.
What if the leader tells us to sin? Then this is the only time that we are not going to obey the leader. We are not to obey the leader if he/she tells us to contradict what God stated in His Word. One example is when King Nebuchadnezzar ordered a decree that all people should bow and worship a golden image when they heard the sound of musical instrument. The consequence of those who will refuse will be thrown into a blazing furnace. The Hebrew people feared God more than the burning furnace so they did not obey the decree. When the King heard this, he called the men to question them. The men answered, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."Daniel 3:16-18
The men obeyed God’s command than the King’s decree yet they spoke with respect to the King. They didn’t say “You fool we’ll never do what you say!” To be disrespectful is rebellion. We must submit and be respectful to the leader even we are not going to obey the command. The men who obeyed God were not hurt even they were thrown to the burning furnace. When the King saw it, he was amazed and he made a new decree that whoever speaks anything against the God of the Israelites shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. As we can see, God is in control of everything and He can change the heart of any leader.
God’s government is a Monarchy. It is ruled by Him because He is our King. And unless we learn to have a submissive heart, we can never be part of His kingdom. After knowing this, I repented and asked for forgiveness for all the times that I was disrespectful to those in authorities, for the times that I have thought that the leaders in my country deserves to be mocked by people. Daddy wants His people to be obedient and submissive to Him. He wants us to stop complaining and be submissive, obedient and respectful to the leaders that He appointed over us. And He wants us to pray for those in authorities. We must always pray for them.
Diane Solver
http://facebook.com/daddys.girl28
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