The BattleSample

Submission to Authority

By Amy Cook

Submission is foundational to spiritual warfare. In fact, it is the prerequisite for your success in battle. If you don’t submit yourself to God, you won’t be able to resist the devil and make him flee (James 4:7). For the sake of clarity, it’s important to first define what submission is and what it isn’t. Submission involves yielding yourself to another’s will or authority. It doesn’t mean yielding your physical body to the abuse of another. Therefore, you can fully submit yourself to God with complete trust, because He doesn’t have an abusive nature.

It’s been said that rules without relationship breed rebellion. If you haven’t developed a close relationship with God, then you won’t know how kind and trustworthy He is. As a result, you’ll find it extremely difficult to submit your will to His will. Submission doesn’t just involve outward obedience; it includes a submissive attitude as well. The Lord can see past your behavior and into your heart. If there are areas where you’re holding back from Him, He isn’t fooled. It’s vital to be honest with God and to ask Him for His help.

If you aren’t sure what God’s will is for you, you won’t be able to submit to it. You must discover His will and purpose for you as an individual. As a soldier in God’s army, you need to start by studying the Bible, your training manual, to discover God’s commands and instructions for you. The Lord has specific assignments for you, a strategic position for you to occupy and a mission for you to fulfill. These instructions are transmitted directly into your spirit by the Holy Spirit.

Another major way the Lord confirms His will for you is through the different types of authority He has placed in your life. God has established human authority figures through your church, family, employers and government to guide you in your mission and provide you with checkpoints along the way. Their role is to train you, protect you and help you discern the pathway God wants you to follow (Hebrews 13:17; Romans 13:1–7). God wants you to render your service to Him by submitting wholeheartedly to the authority figures He has placed in your life (Ephesians 5:21; 6:6–7).

When Daniel and his Hebrew friends first came to Babylon, he didn’t want to violate his conscience by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine. So he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. The head of the palace staff liked Daniel but refused to exempt him because he was afraid that the king wouldn’t be happy about it. So Daniel then asked Melzar, the steward in charge of what the young men ate, to exempt them from the royal diet. Because Daniel didn’t want to jeopardize Melzar’s job, he wisely set up a trial diet. He told Melzar, “Try us out for ten days on a simple diet of vegetables and water. Then compare us with the young men who eat from the royal menu. Make your decision on the basis of what you see.”

Daniel recognized his accountability to human authority and understood that God uses it to accomplish His will. He trusted that God would work through his unbelieving boss to protect and bless him. The plan worked, and God rewarded Daniel’s submissive attitude with supernatural health, favor, wisdom and revelation. Instead of handling the situation like a know-it-all, defiant teenager, Daniel displayed wisdom beyond his years with humility and meekness. The result was that Daniel and his friends were promoted to positions of power and authority (Daniel 1:8–20).

Memory Verse

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 (KJV)