Obey God Rather Than Human Beings —Two2Grow, Friday, August 7
Obey God Rather Than Human Beings —Two2Grow, Friday, August 7
“Peter and the other apostles replied: ‘We must obey God rather than human beings!’” Acts 5:29 NIV
Had Emelie and I let what others thought we should or shouldn’t do govern our lives, we would have missed the will of God. In fact, we would not even have gotten married, since some of Emelie’s friends thought that I wasn’t a suitable match for her—but thankfully, God knew better!
In our walk with Jesus, we will come to places where the expectations of the people around us run contrary to what we sense is the leading of the Holy Spirit. Those times are not easy, but they are a test of who has the final say in our decisions and of what we are building our lives upon—the will of God or the opinions of people.
For many of us, it is a temptation to choose the road of least resistance, to follow the crowd, and not to upset those around us. Yet when you study the people of faith in the Bible, you see that God often called them to walk the road of greatest resistance, to go contrary to the majority, and often at the cost of upsetting some people.
It is not that we want to see people upset or get energy from causing conflict—which some actually do. Instead of causing conflict, we are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). But at the end of the day, it comes down to where our ultimate loyalty lies. And at the end of the day, obeying God will bring blessings not just to you but to others too, even those who initially disagreed.
Father, I pray that you help me stay loyal to you today. Help me discern your will and give me the courage to act on it, no matter what people say or think. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
Had Emelie and I let what others thought we should or shouldn’t do govern our lives, we would have missed the will of God. In fact, we would not even have gotten married, since some of Emelie’s friends thought that I wasn’t a suitable match for her—but thankfully, God knew better!
In our walk with Jesus, we will come to places where the expectations of the people around us run contrary to what we sense is the leading of the Holy Spirit. Those times are not easy, but they are a test of who has the final say in our decisions and of what we are building our lives upon—the will of God or the opinions of people.
For many of us, it is a temptation to choose the road of least resistance, to follow the crowd, and not to upset those around us. Yet when you study the people of faith in the Bible, you see that God often called them to walk the road of greatest resistance, to go contrary to the majority, and often at the cost of upsetting some people.
It is not that we want to see people upset or get energy from causing conflict—which some actually do. Instead of causing conflict, we are called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). But at the end of the day, it comes down to where our ultimate loyalty lies. And at the end of the day, obeying God will bring blessings not just to you but to others too, even those who initially disagreed.
Father, I pray that you help me stay loyal to you today. Help me discern your will and give me the courage to act on it, no matter what people say or think. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD