8. Why We Rebel
eight
We have journeyed far. We have looked upon the earth’s first days when Adam and Eve chose to disobey and thus submitted their lives to the influence of Satan.1 We went back further still and watched as Lucifer, through his insubordination, became Satan.2 Even before time began, we eavesdropped on the secret councils of the Trinity when the Son chose to be second and to submit to God the Father.3
We saw how Jesus came to earth to suffer as He learned obedience and displayed God’s intention for man in humility and submission. We also looked at the lives of godly individuals who though for a time endured great hardship in their obedience, reaped divine protection over their lives and blessings beyond anything we would expect.
Then we have been confronted with the reality that when we rebel against our delegated authorities, we are actually rebelling against God Himself. Judgment follows. When we submit to our delegated authorities, however, we submit to God Himself and please Him. And by this choice, we show how much we love Him.
It is obvious that this principle of submission to authority is not only significant but sacred to God. So much of what happens in our lives hinges upon this one important principle.
So now here’s the question: If this truth is so significant, why don’t we want to submit? Why is there so much rebellion? Even the word submission—who likes it? Especially in this generation, from day one children are encouraged to be strong and independent.
Why are we so blind? The god of this world influences mankind through his power. Paul calls Satan “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2, NIV). It is always our own choice, but more often than not, Satan is whispering in our ear, convincing us to give in to the ways of rebellion.
What are the “reasons” why we yield to his influences?
it Starts in Our Mind
Our mind is the battleground. Watchman Nee writes, “Rebellious words come from rebellious reasoning, and reasoning in turn is ‘cooked up’ in thought. Hence thought is the central factor in rebellion.”4 It all begins with our thoughts and imaginations, which too often are influenced by Satan. These thoughts then become “fortresses” that end up blocking our understanding of God’s ways in the situation at hand.
This is where our ancestors lost that first battle to the devil. When he talked with Eve, Satan appealed to her mind and emotions, saying, “You will be like God. He knows what’s going to happen if you eat of this fruit. You will know what is right and wrong. That will make Him jealous.”5 So Eve started thinking about this.
You can just imagine what went on in her mind: Is that true? I didn’t realize that. I mean, what could be so bad about eating this fruit? Reasoning with her mind, she decides to take a bite instead of saying, “Okay, God, I believe You. You said not to do this, so that settles it. I will obey.” Instead, she tried to figure things out in herself.
What Eve was not able to understand was that God wasn’t worried about the apple or the mango. He created a multitude of trees and plants. What was so important about this one little fruit? The crux of the matter was that God placed Adam and Eve under His authority so they would learn obedience. He didn’t make them do it. He gave them the freedom to choose. But Eve’s thought to become like God became a fortress that blocked her understanding of Him. She wasn’t able to see beyond her reason and logic to His greater plan for her.
Just as a wife might think to herself, This husband of mine is not smart. He can’t make wise decisions, so I am going to take charge now. I will start making the decisions. Good logic, but God looks upon it and says, “You don’t understand. It is not about how smart or dumb he is. It is about you being under his authority.”
Before Adam and Eve fell, right and wrong were in God’s hand. Whatever God said, that was all they knew. When they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they found the source of right and wrong in something other than God Himself. Innocence died.
We are all the children of Adam and Eve. No longer innocent, we are born independent from God. Untold numbers of Christian workers are living in rebellion to their authority because they “reason” within themselves to see if what their leader is doing is good or bad as far as they understand it. Watchman Nee said, “Man’s action should not be governed by the knowledge of good or evil; it should be motivated by a sense of obedience.”6
How many times have you said to yourself, What you say is right, but I know better?. I had a professor in college, Dr. Macbeth. One time he made this funny statement: “I wish children were parents first before they became children.” Children think that they are smarter and more intelligent than their parents and that they know what is best. Then they grow up, get married and have sons and daughters—who think the very same thing! These parents say the same thing their own parents did: “You think you’re smarter? Don’t you realize I’ve lived longer than you have?” But the children don’t value their parents’ counsel because they believe they are capable of knowing right and wrong for their own lives.
We all think we know what is best for us. We assume we are able to distinguish good from evil. But we are deceived. Eve was also deceived by Satan. In a similar way, when we try to argue and reason, we too can come under the deception of demons.
If you study people who are in rebellion, you find the underlying reason for their attitude is that their way makes sense in their natural mind. I have been serving the Lord for almost 40 years, and I have dealt with many blatantly rebellious people. Of the hundreds I have known, seldom was I able to help someone come to a place of repentance, saying, “I never saw that. Will you please forgive me? Will you pray for me?” Why? They are always “right” in their own thinking. They are not immoral or wrong. If they went to a court of law, they might even come out winning. Their reasons are strong and their arguments sound.
Think about your own life—the way you acted with your parents, what you thought and what you did. Think of the cases you built against your authorities’ decisions. Are you surprised? Don’t be. Instead of simply obeying what God has asked us to do through our delegated authorities, we argue and try to reason things out in our heads. And we end up doing the same thing Eve did.
Don’t misunderstand: I am not saying we should check our brains at the door and stop thinking. There are rare cases of abuse or clear disregard for God’s authority in which we need to remove ourselves from under that authority or even disobey. But aside from those exceptional situations, the instruction is for us to come under the submission of God’s authority by obeying those authorities God has placed over us. It means yielding even when our brain doesn’t accept it or understand it. You see, the Word tells us that our natural mind is always at enmity with God, and it will not submit to Him.7
Mankind became independent from God, and the work of redemption brings us back to a place where we once again find our right and wrong in Him and not in ourselves. Second Corinthians 10:3-5 ( NIV) gives us the instructions to handle these thoughts that plague us:
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with [or warfare] are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Then in Romans, Paul tells us:
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2, NIV).
So now we come to the place where we can say, “God, I am open to You. Please help me.” Otherwise we continue to rely on engaging our reason and walking in insubordination. But then who misses out? We do!
Unbrokenness and pride
As long as we believe we are someone extraordinarily important, we resist bending our necks. Often the incredibly competent are rebellious in their attitude. In Romans 12:3-5, Paul’s exhortation to man is:
For I say . . . to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
For one reason or another, we can all have an elevated view of ourselves. The reasons are many—social status, fame, spiritual gifts, education, abilities, career position, spirituality, family background, experience, wealth and the list goes on. We start thinking about ourselves and become big in our own eyes. Samuel said of Saul, “You were once small in your own eyes” (1 Samuel 15:17, NIV, emphasis mine). But a day came when Saul saw himself as big and important, to the extent that he could make his own decisions. It was then that he rebelled against God’s direction to him through Samuel, his spiritual delegated authority.
It sometimes happens like this with those who are given spiritual gifts. They may have only been walking with the Lord for a short while, whereas their pastor has been serving God for 25 or 30 years. But now they start getting the attention of the people, and they say to themselves, Wow, my pastor can’t do what I can, but I’m gifted by God. They start looking down at their spiritual leader, and rebellion begins to grow in their hearts.
Obviously, these strengths or blessings are not evil in themselves. They are given by God. But being given much can put you on slippery ground if you’re not careful. Submitting to authority means we take the place of a servant, but pride will not permit us to assume that place. So then pride and an unbending nature become the reason for rebellion.
Look at divorces, relationships that end in bitterness and juvenile delinquency cases, and you’ll often find arrogant and stubborn people at the bottom of it. It’s pride that responds, “I don’t care what you say. I know better. Don’t teach me! I am the captain of my soul, and I make my own decisions!” When pride has a hold on our lives, we can feel that we are “above” submitting to authority.
Naaman, the famous leper in the Old Testament, was the most powerful human being in Syria next to the king.8As commander of the army, when he walked through the streets his own people respected him and did whatever he commanded. But Naaman was full of leprosy.
He heard rumors about a mighty prophet in Israel and went there to get healed by Elisha. I am sure he expected an auspicious reception with a lot of gracious words being said to him. But now this strange prophet, who hardly had any riches and was living out in the middle of nowhere, sent out a servant boy to tell Naaman to go dip in the Jordan River seven times.
Naaman got mad and snapped, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy” (2 Kings 5:11, NIV). His anger grows, and he feels he has been treated disrespectfully. “What on earth is this two-bit prophet talking about? In my country we have rivers far better than the Jordan. Why can’t I go there and be cleansed! What nonsense is this?”9
In his anger, Naaman starts to go back home. Why should he humble himself before this prophet who didn’t even have the courtesy to come out and properly greet him? The truth is, to be healed Naaman had to submit to the one God had appointed to help him. He almost chose pride over healing. Then his servants said to him, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?” (2 Kings 5:13, NIV), and they pleaded with him to submit to what he had been told. Finally Naaman obeyed the instructions of Elisha.
What happened? He was healed, and his flesh was restored to that of a young boy. His pride and his own reasoning, however, had nearly kept him from the miracle he had been hoping for.
Look at Lucifer.10 He was a beautiful cherub, immensely gifted and wise. But a time came when his gifts made him think he could ascend even higher, and he thought to himself, I am important. I will exalt my throne above God’s. Why should I submit to Him?11 And that’s when he was cast down.
Today Satan is influencing people to follow his example. He encourages them to believe that because they are gifted, because they have wealth or because people respect their position, they too can plunge ahead and do as they think best.
Invictus
. . . I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
. . . And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
Why We Rebel
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.12 Invictus means “unconquerable” in Latin. Those who follow this path become hard and proud, unconquerable. One man who was convicted of mass murder was convinced until the very end he was justified in his choices simply because he disagreed with his authority. He was executed and died proud and hard. He wrote the words of this poem by William Ernest Henley as his last words to this world.
Ezekiel 28:14 ( NIV) says of Lucifer, “You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you” (emphasis mine). God did not take away his gifting and his abilities, his knowledge and his powers, but his anointing and his standing with God were gone. And he became Satan. The truth of the matter is that many times we can be more able in some way than our parents or pastor or teacher or boss or husband. But with that status alone, where do we end up?
Early in my life, I was given a little book called The Calvary Road by Roy Hession. In this volume was a small card, printed with the words, “Not ‘I’ but Christ.” Interestingly, the I was drawn as a stubborn-looking man standing straight up. The C in Christ was a bent I, pictured as an individual with his head bowed, broken and humble.
When we look at Christ, we all become silent before His example:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8, NIV).
Let us be willing to allow God to change us into His likeness.
Scars of the past
All of us have been treated unfairly. Without exception, we have suffered unkindness, misunderstandings and even abuse. This is the story of every human being. In a court we could probably prove that we have good reason to be bitter. Be careful, though! This bitterness can bring us to the place of speaking and acting against God’s authority.
How do we go from someone else’s careless actions against us to rebellion in our hearts? When our eyes are diseased, everything is foggy. In a similar fashion, unforgiveness turns into bitterness and affects our whole life. Our emotions, our minds and our wills are all contaminated and defiled.
In a sense it is like when we are physically ill. Our body is weak and run-down, and physically we can’t do our normal work. The same is true in a spiritual sense. Bitterness wears down our spiritual immune system. Our insides get messed up, and we simply aren’t capable of responding like someone who has a wholesome heart.
Most of the time, people don’t even realize what has happened inside them. They fight and argue, unaware that a root of bitterness is causing this unrest in their soul. Nothing defiles a person of everything that is good like unforgiveness and bitterness. So it is that a heart affected by bitterness leads to rebellion and insubordination toward authorities.
The reason behind our bitterness may not necessarily have anything to do with an authority in our lives. It can be because of a co-worker, a brother or a sister. We can even manifest bitterness against God for some calamity that has happened.
Look at the older son in Luke 15.13A party was going on in the house for his younger brother. He knew he was expected to come, but he was angry and refused to attend. He was standing on the outside—not listening, not being sensitive to his authority. His spirit was shouting, “I am upset. What’s happening is unjust.” At last his father came out and pleaded with him to come inside. He still refused to listen to his father and spit out his hot words: “Look at this son of yours who wasted all your money. Why do you want to throw a party for him?”14 Here was a man manifesting rebellion because he was bitter.
There are numerous stories like his. Unforgiveness distorts people’s perception, and they easily become cynical toward their authority. Rebellion is simply the next step. Hebrews 12:15 warns us against this poison. It exhorts us to be diligent and guard against any root of bitterness growing within us. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this verse.
When the offense has come from either a current or past authority figure, it makes obedience all the more difficult. We may have suffered under an ungracious or ungodly authority or experienced difficult circumstances with a delegated authority. We can walk away from a situation like this and move on, but often we carry with us that unforgiveness and anger toward authority. In any situation in which people experience difficulties with their given authority and do not forgive, it results in degrees of rebellion.
Sometimes in a church situation, people experience harshness or some kind of pain or disappointment related to church leadership. They leave that church and join another. They’re thrilled and happy with everything at first. But in a short time, they get disgruntled, become critical and are no longer submissive to their pastor and elders. They never forgave their first pastor, and hence their underlying attitude has never changed. They still manifest an independent and rebellious spirit wherever they go.
Look at the children of Israel. They were always complaining and rebelling.15 Could it be that because of the abusive authority they knew in Egypt, they viewed their new authorities with contempt as those who would also mistreat them like their slave masters had?
Think about this more, and you realize that for 400 years they had lived in Egypt under slavery. It’s not too hard to imagine that many of these people developed anger and hatred toward authority. God had freed them from their bondage in Egypt as well as their abusive authority they had known there. They had the promises of God now before them. But how many of them carried that bitterness and unforgiveness out of the country with them? Then when trials and difficulties came, the children of Israel reacted in rebellion against Moses, the new authority God had placed over them.
There’s a saying that a cat who falls into boiling water is scared even when it sees cold water. Once touched by scalding water, the animal fears any water, even though it’s perfectly safe. It is reminded of the pain it suffered and doesn’t want to risk that happening again!
When authority goes wrong, it is an incredibly hurtful situation for those who suffered under that influence. The devil uses these painful experiences, these scars from the past, to blind us from seeing the godly principle of submission. Those who have experienced abusive authority or very authoritative leadership, such as “Prophet’s Movements” or Shepherding Movement theology, are like the cat who fell into the boiling water. Even remotely similar experiences remind them of the terrible distress they suffered. It is difficult for them to trust authority again because there was so much damage—ruined marriages, broken lives and brainwashing with Bible verses.
Wives who were abused in a previous marriage and are now married to a kind and gentle man may still have flashbacks and find it difficult to trust their new husband. It may take some time before they allow themselves to fully submit. Keen memories of the past can put up a defense mechanism because that’s how she got through her last situation. Such extreme situations put fear in the back of one’s head that says, “I don’t want to go through that again.” We shouldn’t underestimate the difficulty such people have suffered.
Yet it is not beyond Christ to give the strength to forgive and to let Him heal those past scars. In spite of man’s misuses of authority, God’s foundation stays sure. He can restore us and help us learn to submit again and to experience hope and new life. It is better to walk afresh with God than to live in the memory of our past pain.
The power of influence
People can have everything going for them. They can be humble of heart and without significant scars from the past. Yet they too can easily get swept into grave acts of rebellion. How? Through association with others. A significant reason for rebellion against authority is the negative influence of rebellious people.
When Lucifer fell, he was not alone. One-third of the angels followed him.16But take a moment to consider what they walked away from. They did not see spiritual matters dimly, like we do. Day and night these angels stood before God. They saw Him face-to-face. Not only that, until then they were living in a sinless state. They truly knew an awesome experience.
Yet great numbers of these angels were swayed by Lucifer and followed him. How could that happen?
It was the power of influence.
The power of influence is so strong that I see it as being one of the main reasons for church breakups, family breakups and the start of rebellions within organizations. I don’t know how many have left my own movement for this very reason. This is a very dangerous cancer.
The story of Korah is a key example.17You remember what happened. Many of Israel’s top leaders, who had seen God’s wonderful acts, were influenced by Korah. By his influence, innocent people were swept away because they did not guard their hearts from his rebellion. Even today, how many innocent people have been wiped out because they were influenced by the wrong people and were blind to what was happening?
The rebellion began with Korah, just one person. In the end, however, 250 leaders and all the families of the three ringleaders were destroyed. Scripture warns us, “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). In the early years of our seminary in India, I counseled my leaders and told them, “Work with the students no matter what they do. They will make mistakes. They’re here to find help.” But then I added, “There’s one thing you should not tolerate—any form of rebellion. It is contagious.” Stories of rebellions that began through the influence of one individual can be told time and again. They are all too common.
One such story is about a pastor and his congregation, which I knew for nearly two decades. There were more than 1,000 attending members, and every sign indicated this church was going to have a huge impact for the kingdom. There were many godly people involved, with a good man as their shepherd.
Then all of a sudden, like the erupting of a dormant volcano, problems surfaced. There was a tough split, and after a few years, less than 100 people made up the congregation. The tragedy the pastor and the church suffered began with one individual who reasoned in his head how things should be. He got disgruntled and became rebellious toward the church leadership. What began with one became “a group,” and soon the damage was done.
The same misfortune happens in all walks of life. It invades politics. It appears in mission organizations. I’ve seen it happen within many ministries I know.
It should be obvious that these stories serve as a strong warning to us. When someone starts speaking negative things about those in authority, it should be like a siren in our hearts, screaming, “Be careful! Be careful! Be careful!”
The dilemma is that it can be an assistant pastor, a worship leader, an elder, a deacon or a well-respected person who leads the innocent sheep into this rebellion against their delegated authority. The insubordination within that 1,000-member church had everything to do with the influence of one significant assistant leader.
Look at the 10 elders in Israel who gave evil reports to the people.18 The 10 were all top leaders. They were as gifted as Joshua and Caleb to lead the people of God. Nevertheless, it was through their influence that unbelief and rebellion were instigated against Moses—their delegated authority.
I know a leader who worked with an organization. He was given all the freedom in the world to work with everyone. But he actually started influencing some of these individuals to rebel against their leadership and, in the end, walk away from the ministry. These innocent people were not mature enough to understand that from the time he started to demonstrate insubordination, he was not acting in a godly manner—that he was not someone whom they should follow. They trusted him completely and did not guard their hearts. In the end, they followed after him.
It can all begin so innocently. One person may say a few things in a private prayer meeting like, “I am concerned about our leader. He is a godly brother. He works hard. We love him and his family. What sacrifices he has made for God. . . .” Then, under the cover of concern and prayer requests, all kinds of negative innuendos are made about his authority. Before you know it, emails are sent, phone calls are made and everything gets carried to the next level. That little “prayer concern” eventually becomes the poison that destroys many lives.
It can happen innocently among young people who have mentors they love and respect. But they take for granted that their thoughts are right and don’t realize they are criticizing those in authority.
It can even be a senior leader speaking ill of an associate under him to one of this man’s own people. This person can think, Wow, the big boss says that about my leader. Why do I have to listen to him? He obviously doesn’t know what he’s doing.
How many children have grown up in godly homes but fall prey to bad habits because of the rebellious influence of newfound friends in college or university where they attend?
Even a casual conversation with a co-worker, discussing shared hurts related to a leader, can be the start of incredible damage in the work of God.
Guarding our hearts against anything that causes insubordination or a lack of respect toward authority should be taken very seriously. God warns us to have nothing to do with those who sow discord among the brethren—not even sharing meals with them.19
Masses were led astray because they did not protect their ears from Absalom’s deceiving words. Possibly millions of angels didn’t have to lose their privileges forever and be cast out of heaven had they chosen not to be influenced by Lucifer. They could have said, “We have seen God, the Creator, and we are not going to rebel against Him.”
So it is today; we still have that choice. When it comes to our friends, our fellowship with others, we need to be incredibly careful. If someone you look up to manifests rebellion toward authority, don’t join him or her in their sin.
One time someone told me of his frustration with a leader. I asked him why he felt this way. I found out that this individual had no personal interaction at all with this leader. However, his close friend had great difficulty with him, and through their conversations, this innocent man was now unhappy and critical toward this Christian leader.
If you are seeking counsel, please find people who know God. Don’t gravitate toward those who agree with everything you think and say. They are not the kind of friends to help you. Find people who are not afraid to tell you, “You are wrong. This is not the way to do it.” They will teach you the ways of the Lord. They will not aid your heart in acts of rebellion.
Then guard your heart from being influenced by the words and actions of others so that you are not marked by rebellion. Be cautious about allowing yourself to listen to television programs or movies that foster rebellion. When you sense the spirit of someone is critical, protect your heart from their words, lest you become defiled. If you happen to hear such evil talk, say quietly in your heart something like this: “In Jesus’ name I reject these words. I do not receive them.”
If it is a leader who is promoting insubordination against authority, be careful not to join in the ranks.
Any of us can easily fall prey to the negative influence of others if we don’t purpose to guard our hearts against it.
For the lack of Faith There is rebellion
Our submission to authority rests on faith. Likewise, our rebellion stems from a lack of faith. More than we realize, we live with rebellion in our hearts because of our unwillingness to believe God’s Word and act on it.
Often it is our human logic that stops us from trusting God to see us through. Faith is not counter to logic or reason; it is beyond it. Imagine with me this possible conversation between God and Noah:
God calls, “Hi, Noah!”
“Yes, God!” he responds.
“I want you to build an ark.”
“What did you say?” Noah responds.
“A boat. A building that floats on the water. This is how I want you to build it. . . .”
God gives Noah all the instructions for this project. I am sure Noah agonized over this rather unusual idea. It probably made no sense to him. I can see Noah’s son observing his dilemma and saying, “Daddy, what’s happened?”
“Son, I just can’t figure this out. God told me that there is going to be a flood, and we need to build an ark.”
“What are you talking about? There’s going to be a flood? There’s going to be rain? Not even a drop of water has ever come down from the sky! That makes no sense.”
Can you just imagine Noah trying in his mind to figure this out? Noah probably hired carpenters. I can see them out working with their chisels and hammers, saying to each other, “Man, what exactly are we doing?”
“What do you mean? We’re building a boat.”
“But for what?”
“Oh, the old man is cracked.”
“It doesn’t matter; we’re getting our money! Just keep on building it!”
The project made no logical sense. But the Bible says, “Noah did everything just as God commanded him.”20 Through his obedience, Noah touched godliness.
What was the secret of David’s life of submission in the midst of such incredible pain and suffering? His own testimony declares: “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13, Kjv, emphasis mine).
It is our lack of faith that urges us to rebel and act independently. When we are faced with adverse circumstances or when the authorities over us make poor decisions, we must choose to believe in the sovereignty of God instead of our human reasoning. We trust in God to make everything right in the end. If we choose not to believe in Him, we will lean upon our own understanding, and we will soon end up fighting for our personal rights.
Hagar had the courage to go back and submit to her unkind authority because she had faith in God’s promise to her.21 If she sought to live by sight and logic, she would never have made that choice.
If we believe that God’s Word is true and that He will protect us and grow us in godliness and bless us when we obey the authorities He appointed, then we don’t have to understand or agree with everything our authorities do in order to be submissive. We can believe that in spite of our hurts from the past, God’s promises remain true. And He will bless our obedience even when it doesn’t make sense.
We must begin to see beyond our delegated authority to the God who placed us under those people. If we choose to look beyond, we will not just see the man or woman in authority over us, but the sacredness of “authority” God has established and His unlimited power to make things right in the end.
The author of rebellion, Satan, will continue to use unbelief to try to keep us under his influence. Don’t forget that “unbelief” was the weapon he used to cause Eve to rebel against God and Adam, her delegated authority.
But God is forever restoring what Satan destroyed. We can choose to say, “Father, not my will, but Your will be done.” When we come to that place of total surrender, we can honestly say, “I am not going to attempt to be so smart about this. I will not protect my interests any longer. I choose to stop fighting.”
It is now through faith in Christ that we are a new creation. Let us learn to live with submission, trusting in God’s Word, so that in the end it will be well with us.
Lord, thank You for Your grace toward us and Your words of promise. Please meet with us. Take these truths and touch us deeply in our souls as only You can do. Teach us to walk with You as You desire. Lord, we trust You to help us on this journey. We cannot do this on our own. Thank You for everything. Amen.