The Powers That Be … and Bend to God’s Will
“I appeal to Caesar!” … “To Caesar you will go.” Acts 25:11–12
My home sits on a slope. When my husband, Mace, and I first moved into the house, during heavy rainstorms water rushed down the hill, under our house’s foundation, and seeped into the basement. To solve that problem, Mace dug a trench behind our house, then built a concrete-lined channel into our driveway that redirected the water down into the road. The project was time-consuming and laborious but necessary.
In Proverbs 21:1, Solomon says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” God can use anyone and everyone to
accomplish his will, and if he has to redirect a few rulers’ hearts, he does so with ease.
God had promised Paul that he would “testify in Rome” (Acts 23:11). As we’ve seen in recent chapters, God moved in the hearts of Paul’s nephew, a centurion, and the Roman commander Lysias to move Paul from Jerusalem to Caesarea. God also influenced the heart of the Roman governor, Felix, to disregard the Jewish leaders’ accusations and refuse their request to return Paul to Jerusalem. The biblical account doesn’t suggest that any of these men were Christians or even sympathetic to Christianity, but their heart condition didn’t prevent God from working out his plan for Paul and the spread of the gospel.
In chapter 25, Paul stood before another ruler, Festus, to defend himself against false charges and to present the gospel. Festus refused to cater to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem (25:3–4), insisting that they go with him to Caesarea. There, Festus asked Paul if he “willing” to return to Jerusalem (v. 9). Imagine a judge asking a defendant’s opinion! Once again, God was at work in a ruler’s heart. Paul appealed to Caesar, and Festus agreed to send him to Rome. How angry do you think those Jewish leaders were?
Sometimes I get frustrated, even mad, about what government leaders and some religious leaders do or don’t do. But Paul’s experiences in Jerusalem and Caesarea remind me that God has everything under control. If he wants to influence a leader’s actions, he will. That’s his job, not mine.
Years before Paul ended up in Caesarea, he wrote to the Christians in Rome: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). Note that the ruler in Rome at that time was Nero. A few years later, when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he wrote to Timothy and said, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Timothy 2:1–2).
God is in control. He can influence any heart no matter how much power that person has or how resistant that person is to the gospel Our job is to be law-abiding citizens, to pray for our leaders, and to pursue godliness and holiness. How well are you following those biblical principles?
Dig Deeper
Read Romans 13:1–7. Ask God to show you how to develop a godly perspective on those he has placed in authority over you at work, at church, in your community and in your country. Commit to pray for them regularly.
What does Peter say about living in a sinful world and submitting to authority in 1 Peter 2:11–17? What do you think “honor the king” involves? (Some versions use “respect the king.”)
Consider Joseph’s conversation with Pharaoh in Genesis 41:14–43 and Daniel’s with King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:19–27. What principles of responding to authorities can you glean from these godly men?
Denise K. Loock
This devotion is part of our series on the Book of Acts.