“He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…” Matthew 10:41
When we willingly bring ourselves under the authority of a house, we receive from the blessings that are in that house. One of my favorite examples of this principle is found in the history between David and King Saul in I Samuel. Saul was a difficult authority for David to be under. Saul even turned against David and tried to take his life, but David continued to love and honor Saul. I believe David’s heart is the reason God blessed David in the king’s house.
Honoring authority has its reward. Be on guard for disappointment. When we get disappointed in authority, it can become challenging to continue to give our strength and our heart to them. Disappointment can cause us to be reluctant to join up, hesitant to go all in, because our leader has repeatedly failed to meet our expectations. They have frustrated our hopes. It may feel as if they have thwarted our plans or stolen our dreams. It would be easy to blame them and to start losing respect for them. We might begin to see that our authority has obvious faults, sometimes makes mistakes, and could struggle with temptations. If we compare our leader with other leaders that seem to be more successful, we may question if we made the right choice in committing ourselves to them.
Our authority can often perceive if they have our heart or not. To lead with confidence, a leader needs their team’s enthusiasm, readiness, and willingness to shoot for a goal. They need a team that is eager to move forward. If they don’t have it, a leader won’t feel they can lead their team anywhere. If we hang back, if we are cautious, or even put ourselves in opposition, our authority could lose confidence and give up. Their failure causes us more discouragement and the cycle of defeat begins a downward spiral.
However, if we honor our authority, God will honor us. Honor breaks the cycle of defeat. When we have faith in God, we can put confidence in the authority that puts their trust in Him. Encourage your authority to believe. Support your authority with your whole heart! Jump with both feet in! Don’t hold back. Get on the team and believe that in Christ your team will win! When you place yourself under God’s authority, you place yourself in His blessings.
Application: Honor is an expression of love. David loved Saul, despite Saul’s successes or failures. If you love your authority, you will continually believe in God’s best for their life.