Say the Word

Many years ago, I left the security of my church, my home, and my country to walk out in obedience the call of the Lord upon my life. Through the act of going out of my box of security on a short-term mission trip, along with my wife and two oldest children, I ventured into the unknown. While standing on the ground that God had directed us to, He spoke clearly to me to “go into the fields that are ripe unto harvest.” Excited and proud, as head of my family, I rushed over to my wife to proclaim to her that the Lord of heaven and earth called us to leave all and go to this land for Him. Her response was “I know.”

The Lord is faithful to keep me humble and bring me back under His grace and bring me back under authority. To walk in the gifts God deposited in us, we must be humble. To be a leader or someone in authority, you must humble yourself and submit to another, placing yourself under their authority. In the example above, I started out with the idea of being my own source of covering, but by God’s grace, in a moment He brought me back to earth with the realization that, as a husband and wife, we were called together. And just as I am my wife’s covering, I needed covering in order to accomplish that which He had assigned me.

Later, after arriving in Eastern Europe to be a full-time missionary, God told me to place myself under the authority of another. Through the training I received in my life by being under their leadership, I realized I cannot be my own covering or authority. I am not the one and only authority. Only God is. I’m now a man under authority. I recognize my need to be under authority to be released into my own gifts.

In our scripture for today, this centurion knew how authority worked. The centurion knew that, when placed in a position by someone who is overseeing you, you’re released to lead others. Just as you are told to do this or that, and you, through your training, do what you’re asked by the one over you, things are done. All you need is a directive by the one over you. He told Jesus to just “say the word” and it will be done.

On that day in Hungary, God said the word, we obeyed, and began an adventure of trusting, humility, grace, and faithfulness under the authority placed over us.

Has your leader told you to go and do something? Are you chafing under their leading today? Is it annoying you how they do things? Have you entertained ideas of how much better things would be if you were the one in authority? If you are, then you’re not ready to lead. From my observation, without a humble heart the most charismatic person will end in a wreck, eventually. When we realize our inadequacies, our weakness, and that God will equip us in the position, then we are ready to come under authority and lead.