HONOR

Of all the topics I have been led to write, this one comes at me directly the hardest. I have fought against this topic mentally and physically! I’m even currently walking this out as I type these very words. Every day the Lord has just been putting the word honor in my spirit and it may be one of the hardest concepts I have ever had to walk out. Interestingly enough, I never struggled with honor growing up as I was a rule follower and I didn’t question authority unless their direction was blatantly wrong. The type of honor we are exploring today deals with honoring those in authority and the position they hold. 

This year has been a year of active pursuit as it pertains to my quest to learn more about the character of God and my savior. I’ve grown and surrendered so much that he’s equipped me to let go of things I never thought I could. I’ve been able to walk out forgiveness, start this business in faith, and prioritize God by setting aside time with him daily. However, I’m reminded there is still work to be done as I’ve been struggling with the thorn in my side called honor. 

Honoring those in authority comes easily when the individual walks in integrity, is fair, and isn’t looking to single you out. The difficulty comes when God calls you to remain honorable when those in position expects you to do things they won’t do themselves, keeps up gossip instead of ending it, and shows no respect or responsibility for the position they hold! Yet, in both scenarios God expects us to be honorable. Of course we should not go along with anything our faith opposes, and the Lord does not expect us to be so honorable that we neglect our morals. However, we are expected to show honor to those God has given authority even when we don’t like the individual, or their way of doing things. 

The greatest example of honor in the Bible is king Saul and David. King Saul over the course of time stopped obeying God to completion and the result led to him being rejected as king by God. We then see Samuel anoint David to become king of Israel. It would be years before David stepped into the role of king and though he knew he would one day be in Saul’s position he remained a faithful servant to the king. Even as Saul’s jealousy grew towards David to the point of multiple attempts to murder him, David still honored the King and spared Saul’s life twice when he could’ve ended him. 

The lesson I’m seeing here is that David honored Saul’s position because of his fear and reverence for God. He desired more for what God wanted opposed to what he wanted. We see in the text the mental battle David felt when he wanted to seize those opportunities to end Saul’s life. Yet, he was so full of conviction that he sobbed and repented when he cut off a piece of Saul’s garment in the cave. 

As I write this I feel God showing me that I have not fully surrendered control to him and my desire to push back against authority is just the outward manifestation of the pushback I have towards God and the authority he holds in my life. He revealed that I also fall short often because I keep attempting to live a righteous life by my own strength instead of the strength of the Holy Spirit. In this moment, I feel encouraged as God has revealed to me the root of my desire to not honor someone else’s authority that I don’t agree with. 

My prayer is that for anyone else battling this thorn, you’d be encouraged and convicted to choose to be honorable and lean on God in this season. I believe Satan wants us to fight authority because it makes us more susceptible to fighting God for authority in our own lives. This ultimately leads to a weaker relationship with the father, while it strengthens a spirit of pride in us! I ask that you’d pray for my strength in this season and I’ll be doing the same for you.