Trusting God’s Authority

We typically associate peer pressure with school age kids, but honestly, it’s with you at every stage of life. There’s something in us that wants to please the group of people we associate with no matter how old we get. In Proverbs 1:10, Solomon told his son, “When peer pressure compels you to go with the crowd and sinners invite you to join in, you must simply say, ‘No!’” (TPT) He the. Gives as example of how people will try to get us to do something against our morals to be part of the group. In this case he uses the example of murder and then theft. It’s a crazy example, but it shows the power of needing the approval of others over God’s approval in our life. We become more afraid of what people think of us than what God does, so we fall to the pressure.

In Acts 5, the Early Church was starting to get traction and the group of religious leaders at the time didn’t like it. Peter and the others were laying hands on the sick and they recovered. They raised up people who had been lame since birth. The crowds were noticing and began to give their lives to Jesus. The leaders, sensing their loss of power over the group, decided to throw them in jail. An angel set them free in the night and they began preaching again. The leaders arrested them again and told them, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name…” Then Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men [we have no other choice]” (AMP). Peter demonstrated what Solomon was trying to teach us. We must give greater weight and authority to what God tells us to do than we do the pressures of men.

Proverbs 29:25 says, “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in and puts his confidence in the Lord will be exalted and safe.” Think about the areas of your life where you’re tempted to follow the pressures of others over what is right. These are the areas where Satan tries to get a foothold in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the courage, strength and boldness to obey God the way Peter did. Because he had given God full authority in his life, he wasn’t afraid of the group that would try to get Him to do something different than God had told him. Sometimes the group tries to get you to outright sin, and other times they keep you from stepping into your calling. Give God the authority in your life that He deserves so you can follow where He leads despite the pressure of the crowd.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.