Title
God Uses Civil Authority
Scripture
That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia.
(Ezra 1:1)
Devotional
The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord.[21] It is for this reason that civic authority is to be obeyed. We are told clearly in Romans 13:1, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God." We may not always understand it nor like it. Nevertheless, we can trust God that the authorities that be are the authorities that He has prepared for us. It is for this reason that we are to obey the authorities God has place in our lives, with the following caveat, "We ought to obey God rather than men."[22] Therefore, we are to always obey the laws of man unless those laws violate the laws of God. Our preferences, traditions, desires and wants do not have precedence over civic authority. Unless man's laws violate God's laws, man's laws are to be obeyed.