Honor
Some chapters are not meant to increase what we know, but to transform how we live.
Today, another chapter of Under Cover by John Bevere came to a close. Yet as the final page turned, it became clear that God was not simply asking for another chapter to be read. He was asking for another part of the heart to be surrendered.
The chapter Honor the King presents a truth that is both simple and difficult: honor is easiest when authority is admirable, but its true test comes when authority disappoints us.
Many of us know what it feels like to look at the state of our nation with frustration. We see decisions we disagree with, leaders who fall short, and circumstances that leave us questioning what is happening. It is easy to become critics. It is easy to speak from disappointment. Much harder is choosing to pray when criticism comes more naturally.
One of the most striking moments in the chapter is the story of Hannah.
She came before the Lord carrying a burden no one else could fully understand. In the middle of her grief, Eli, the priest of Israel, completely misunderstood her. Instead of recognizing her brokenness, he accused her of being drunk.
If anyone had reason to become offended, it was Hannah.
She could have defended herself with anger. She could have walked away bitter. She could have allowed the failure of a spiritual leader to become an excuse for losing respect.
Instead, she answered with humility.
She honored the position even when the person occupying it failed to understand her. Hannah trusted that if correction was needed, God was more than capable of handling it. Her focus remained on her own heart before the Lord rather than on Eli’s shortcomings. Scripture tells us that she left in peace, and in time, God answered the very prayer she had brought before Him.
That story asks a question many of us would rather avoid.
What occupies more of our hearts: criticizing authority or praying for it?
Scripture repeatedly calls believers to honor and pray for those in positions of authority. This does not mean agreeing with every decision they make, pretending injustice does not exist, or believing leaders are beyond accountability. Honor is not blind approval.
Honor is recognizing that every authority ultimately exists beneath the authority of God.
To honor a position is not to worship the person who holds it. It is to acknowledge that God remains sovereign, even when human leadership is imperfect. He sees what we cannot see. He knows what we do not know. His purposes continue unfolding even when circumstances leave us confused.
The story of Hannah reminds us that honor is never earned by perfection.
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It is an act of reverence toward God.
Perhaps one of the greatest dangers is allowing criticism to slowly replace prayer. It is possible to become so consumed with pointing out the failures of leaders that we forget our first responsibility before God is to intercede for them. Complaints may be easy to speak, but prayers are often harder to offer.
Maybe the Lord is inviting us to examine not only the condition of those who lead us, but also the condition of our own hearts.
Have frustration and disappointment produced compassion, or have they produced resentment?
Have conversations become filled with criticism while prayers have become fewer?
Have we spent more time discussing leaders than bringing them before the Lord?
These questions are not meant to produce guilt. They are invitations to humility.
The world often teaches that honor must be deserved.
The Kingdom teaches that honor begins with obedience to God.
Now more than ever, our homes, churches, communities, and nations need believers who pray more than they complain. They need people who choose humility over hostility and intercession over accusation. They need followers of Christ who remember that changing hearts has always been God’s work.
May we become people who honor without compromising truth.
May we pray without growing cynical.
May we trust that God’s sovereignty extends even into places where our understanding cannot.
And may we remember that every time we kneel to pray for those in authority, we place our confidence not in human leaders, but in the King who reigns over them all.
Perhaps the greatest lesson is not found in the chapter itself.
Perhaps it is found in allowing God to rewrite the chapters of our own hearts.
From the archives.
— mskae.
