Vital signs- Thursday, July 22nd, 2021

PRAY OVER THIS

“And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’”

(1 Samuel 24:6)

David not only recognized but also respected Saul’s authority. It’s one thing for us to grudgingly give in to authority, but it’s another thing for us to respect that authority and to respect the leaders God has put over us. Sometimes, children have parents who don’t deserve respect, but the children are to respect them anyway. If you have teachers that don’t deserve respect, respect them anyway. If you’re in a church, and your pastor doesn’t deserve respect, respect him anyway. Or if you have a government, and the government does not deserve respect, respect that government anyway.

When you do this, you’re not respecting the individual. You are getting yourself in a place under authority, and when you get to that place, then God is going to begin to work in your life in an incredible way. God is going to see that you don’t have the spirit of rebellion, and God is going to infuse you with great power and give you kingdom authority just as He did with David.

• Where do you currently need to respect authority, even if it’s hard?

• When we respect earthly authority, how are we actually honoring God’s authority in our lives?

Take time today to truthfully speak well of or to encourage the leaders in your life, even if you don’t think they deserve it.