God commands us to submit to governing authority. Our submission to anything, even earthly authority, is shaped by the fact that God owns everything. Earthly authority has its limitations; but before you do anything, pray before you act. The Greek word for submit means that we arrange ourselves in an orderly fashion underneath human authority. Sometimes God puts pagan kings into place for divine purposes. God is of order, not anarchy or chaos. We are very quick in culture today to get angry and offended, mainly because we are not submitted to God and His will or we don't trust God to deal with our situations. We submit to authority for the LORD's sake. Our submission to earthly authority is shaped by the fact that God owns everything. When earthly authority asks that we violate God's law, we protest it. We don't use freedom to mask evil intentions but protest in a way that honors and glorifies God and be willing to suffer the consequences, like Martin Luther King, Jr., who broke the law and submitted to human authority and, therefore, went to jail.

1 Peter 2:13; Daniel 2:21; Romans 11:36; John 19:11

Do you struggle with submission to the human authorities that God has placed in your life?

Choose today to pray, "Jesus, I trust that You are in control and that, for reasons I may never know, You have placed this authority in my life. I honor and glorify You by submitting to this authority for as long as You have me under it."