Authority

Judges 6:15 NASB

In Judges 6:15, Gideon refers to God's authority in his usage of the Hebrew word for Lord, "adonay", pronounced "ad-o-noy'". The root word "adon" means "one possessed of absolute control". The Message actually uses the term "my Master" in this passage. The word most familiar to us is "adonai". Adonai is the old plural form of this Hebrew word, and was the way the Jews pronounced it when reading their scriptures, due to their superstitious reverence for the name "Jehovah".

What struck me about all of this is the absolute authority of God. It occurred to me that as Christians we are under God's authority and I thought about how that makes me feel. So many of us have trouble accepting authority. I know there was a time in my life when I completed rebelled against it, and even now I struggle with it to some extent. Truthfully though, I find a sense of security in being under God's authority. I related it to children. Regardless of what they say or how they act, children prefer structure and authority. When a child knows that there are limits and where those limits are, they have a sense of security. When they know that there is someone there who is going to be in control in a trustworthy manner, they have security. I have been caring for children for over thirty years and I've seen their behavior change when the routine changes, or when they are not sure of the rules. They exhibit much more confidence when there is a routine and they know the rules and the consequences of breaking those rules. I believe it's the same with us and God.

Think about how you would feel if God constantly made things up as He went along, or if He regularly changed the rules, just for fun. I know I wouldn't feel very secure. In fact, I would probably be pretty fearful knowing the judgment side of God as I do. Thankfully, God is the epitome of grace and mercy, and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.....and He is my ultimate authority figure. My Heavenly Father is unwavering in His stability. He has clearly laid out the rules and boundaries as well as the consequences for breaking those rules or crossing the boundaries. He has also made sure that I am aware of the blessings that come from obedience to Him.

We all answer to something or someone. Whether we're willing to admit it or not, if we think about it honestly we will see the truth in that. I believe that our sense of security and even self-worth comes from what or who has authority over us. If we answer to the things of this world; alcohol, drugs, money, sex, prestige....the list goes on, we will have little to no security or self-esteem because these things are not trustworthy authorities. They don't love us unconditionally and have our best interests at heart like God does. They make us happy in one minute and dash us upon the rocks in the next. The things of this world are unreliable at best and allowing them to have authority over us is a recipe for disaster.

Realizing that there will be something or someone in authority over me (even if it was my own ego), was the first step in my journey to accepting the peaceful authority of God. Adonai is the only truly reliable and trustworthy authority figure in all the universe. Even being my own god did not lead to the sense of security that THE GOD has given me. We CAN choose our authority figure. Who or what will you look up to today, and every day for the rest of your life? The quality of your life depends on your answer.