Romans 13:1 - Leaders
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living

By Marni Montanez

Romans 13:1

New King James Version

13 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

For some of us it is not easy to submit to authority. To critics, their mistakes are as bright as neon signs. Many of us have had at least one negative experience in our interactions with some type of leader which tainted our view of all of them. Because of these past encounters, it is difficult to believe a leader could have our best interest at heart. What we are not made aware of is the daily struggle most of them go through . They are human in every sense of the word, meaning they don't always have the answer. Their decisions may be based on lack of confidence or information.

From the beginning of creation, God already had gifts and assignments appointed for each person and certain people are chosen by God to lead others. God knows our weaknesses and is certainly not surprised when we fail. He knows what kind of leader they will be. Look at the book of kings in the bible. There you will find detailed accounts of leaders who either followed the ways of the Lord, or went their own way, which ultimately led their reign to a disastrous end.. These men were evil and still were given an appointed task of ruling from the throne. God is not taken off guard by the decisions of leaders. He knows our hearts better than we know our own heart and He uses every mistake we make for HIs ultimate glory. In some cases God may use the mistakes and failings of a leader perhaps wanting to change something in your heart and that’s why he chose a leader that did not agree with your opinions

God requires us to pray for our leaders. We may not agree with them and they may be evil men and women who are selfish and deceitful which makes it all the more important that we pray for them. It is our hearts, as Christians that need to be right before the Lord. There may be some places you stop going to because of ungodly leadership and God allows for us to leave those places, but while we are there we must pray for them. If we do not pray for our leaders and choose to judge or condemn them then we are bringing division and grumbling into our midst. This is most displeasing to God.

We are instructed to pray for leaders, not change them, and not necessarily agree with them, but through our prayers God can very well change things.

If we are not praying for them, we are feeding them to the wolves.

Challenge: pray for your leaders; spiritual and otherwise. Do it in an attitude of service to God

God bless

Marni 

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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.