Submission, But to Whom?

I don’t really have anything to say this morning, but I have a few quotes from Spiritual Authority by Watchman Nee that may be anointed for more than just me right now. I don’t know which issue pierces me more deeply in the Light of the Spirit today, God’s authority or my submission!

“God exercises the utmost of His strength to uphold His authority. His authority is stronger than anything else. We who are so self-confident, but who are in reality so blind, have to come face-to-face at least once with God’s authority. Only when we are broken can we come into submission. Then we will begin to learn what God’s authority is. Only when a man meets God’s authority will he submit to the deputy authority whom God appoints.”

You have no idea how sobering this is to me.

“Our service to God is not a matter of voluntary sacrifice or of denial of our self. It is a matter of accomplishing God’s will. It is not a matter of picking up the cross. Rather, it is the submission to God’s will. This is the basic principle. If the principle of rebellion is present, even a sacrifice is an enjoyment and a glory to Satan. Saul could offer up sheep and oxen, but God would not recognize that as a sacrifice because the principle of Satan was present. To overturn God’s authority is to overturn God. Hence, the Bible says that rebellion is like the sin of divination, and insubordination is like idolatry and teraphim
(1 Sam. 15:23).”

Do I get this? Given how sick my stomach feels just reading this, whatever I know of this truth isn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

Submission to Whom?

“While we live on this earth, our first question should not be whether or not we should do a certain thing. Rather, in doing a certain thing, we should ask to whom are we submitting. It is not a matter of doing or not doing. It is a matter of to whom we submit. Without submission there is no work and there is no service. When Adam took the fruit, the first question that should have been asked was whether or not this was in submission to God. All of the work of a Christian should come out of submission. Nothing is of our own initiative; everything is responsive. No act is active; everything is passive. In other words, everything should be initiated by God; nothing should be initiated by us.”

I can trace every sin, every stronghold, and every problem in my life to submitting to Satan and not God. Every single time, it’s the same thing: to whom do I submit? That’s the question burning a hole in my heart this morning.

I, Yahweh, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.
Jeremiah 17:10 HCSB