“But if I submit to my parents or my church authorities, I will never be able to enter into God’s calling for my life!”
It may seem that way, but there’s really no cause for concern. The same God who placed you under the authorities in your life is fully capable of releasing you from their supervision when the time is right.
God is also fully capable of changing the hearts of your authorities whenever He decides to do so. If your authorities have put restrictions on you which are contrary to His will for you at the time, God can change their minds. This is perfectly demonstrated in the first chapter of Daniel.
“The Lord can control a king’s mind as easily as he controls a river. He can direct it as he pleases.”—Proverbs 21:1 (ICB)
It requires trust.
Where is your trust? Is it in yourself and your own abilities? Or is your trust in God Who will faithfully perform what He has called you to do?
“God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.”—1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NLT)
It is necessary for you to show that you can serve under the authority of others before you will be granted authority of your own.
“And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?”—Luke 16:12 (ESV)
Before Paul was fully released into his ministry, he submitted himself to Barnabas and other church leaders. Even though his calling in life was to be an apostle with great authority over the churches, he submitted to those who were not as educated, not as highly anointed, and not as gifted as he was. He performed tasks that could have been considered beneath his station as a future apostle. At one time, he was tasked with taking relief supplies to believers living in Judea (Acts 11:29-30). Even though this may have seemed to be taking him away from what he was ultimately called by God to do, he performed this task faithfully, in submission to those who sent him.
After Paul had proven his faithful obedience and submission to the church leaders, he was released and commissioned to fully enter into the ministry that God had already called him to fulfill. God spoke to the leaders there in Antioch, saying, “Separate now for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2 AMPC). As God said to the leaders there, Paul and Barnabas had already been called, but it was at this meeting when they received their commissioning and were sent out.
Moses also had to wait long after he was called before he was finally ready, and it was time to fully enter into God’s great calling for his life.
He had received his calling before he left Egypt as a 40-year-old. As Stephen tells us, Moses had killed the Egyptian in an attempt to move into what he was called to do (Acts 7:24-25), but he acted prematurely. Moses’ commissioning did not come until God spoke to him from the burning bush years later in Exodus 3. Until then, Moses served his father-in-law.
Joseph also experienced this. He had a dream that told him that he was called to eventually rule over his family. But he remained submitted to his father’s authority after having the dream. Then, when he was sold into slavery, he faithfully served his master, Potiphar. Later, when he was unjustly thrown into prison, he was a faithful servant to those in authority over the prison. It was only after faithfully serving and submitting himself to the authorities over him for years that he was finally commissioned by Pharaoh to enter into his calling at age 30 as the highest authority in the land, second only to Pharaoh.
David also experienced this. He spent years submitted to the authorities over him, even after he had been anointed to become King of Israel. First, he submitted himself to his father Jesse, and later he continued as a faithful servant of King Saul, even after he had been clearly shown that he would replace Saul as King. But when the time was right, he was freed from that supervision to enter into God’s calling for his life.
And, of course, Jesus experienced this, too. When He was corrected by His parents, He chose to obey them.
“Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.”— Hebrews 5:8 (NLT)
He remained submitted to his parents’ authority until he was mature. Then, when He was 30 years old, He was baptized by John and entered into the most powerful ministry the world has ever known. Not only that, but after spending the rest of his childhood in submission to his parents’ leadership authority, God responded by speaking audibly at His baptism and declaring, “You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22).
The last verse of Luke 2 declares that “Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people” (Luke 2:52 NLT). But it only says this about Jesus after he submitted to the authority of his parents.
Jesus told John the Baptist at His baptism, “Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3-15 ISV). Submitting to the authorities that God had placed over Him was another way that Jesus did things in the proper way to fulfill all righteousness.
This is a vital lesson to learn because God works through authorities that He has placed over us.
The centurion understood this in Matthew 8 and Luke 7. His understanding of how God works through authority was so clear that it resulted in great faith. The centurion’s faith was so great that Jesus actually marveled at him! And it was all because the centurion had a clear understanding that God works through authority, which was something with which the centurion was very familiar.
“I know this because I am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority.”—Luke 7:8 (ERV)
It is vital for each of us to wait for our commissioning because many people are called, but only a few are proven faithful and worthy of being chosen to be commissioned.
“Many are called, but few are chosen.”—Matthew 22:14 (NKJV)
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time”—1 Peter 5:6 (AMP)
And even after the commissioning, it is necessary to prove yourself faithful in the work that God has called you to do in order to retain your commission. You don’t want to end up like Samson or King Saul, having your life’s work cut off prematurely.
“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations”—Revelation 2:26 (NKJV)
In the book of Revelation, those overcomers who are allowed to accompany Jesus when He finally achieves His ultimate victory over the antichrist and the Babylon system had proven themselves, not only by being called, but also by being chosen and faithful.
“He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”— Revelation 17:14 (NASB)
