101 Devotionals for Boys from the Lives of Great Christians and 101 Devotionals for Girls from the Lives of Great Christians will both be published in 2017. We’re publishing one or two devotionals a week to give you a taste of what you’ll get in those two gift books. This one is based on a story from With Two Hands: Stories of God at Work in Ethiopia (Hidden Heroes #1).
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In Ethiopia, Shaga the witchdoctor expected his son Nana to one day take his place. But when Nana was only twelve, he became a Christian. Shaga was furious and insisted that Nana turn from Christ and turn back to the way of the evil spirits.
How can a son honor a father who is wicked?
Nana had to follow the Lord. He couldn’t obey his father, but even though he refused to obey, he never spoke disrespectfully to his father. This took tremendous courage, but the Lord helped him.
Sometimes the authorities in your life do wrong. When you have to choose to obey God rather than man, you can still show honor by speaking respectfully. Sometimes you may want to yell or be sarcastic, but you can ask the Lord to help you bite your tongue. It will take tremendous courage. Keep calling on Him to help you respect your authority even when you can’t obey.
“We ought to obey God rather than men.” ~Acts 5:29
Thank You, Lord, that Your Holy Spirit strengthens Your people to do right. Help me to be respectful even when I can’t obey.
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