IBS Application for Hebrews 13:17

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Submission to authority is something we’ve all struggled with at one point or another. Whether it be submission to God or to someone God has put in our lives, no one is exempt from conviction of the sin of disobedience to authority. But this verse has something special to say about why we ought to obey our authority.

God has placed all authority over us for a reason. We also have a promise that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Therefore, it’s easy to see that any authority placed over us is placed over us for our benefit, assuming that we are living within His will and answering His call. If this weren’t enough evidence from Scripture as to why we should obey authority, this verse in Hebrews makes any follower a promise regarding the leaders in Church: That our leaders are here to disciple us and look out for us.

God establishes teachers and others involved in discipleship in the Church that have compassion for those who follow them. They’re here to help guide and protect us from that which would seek to keep us in the dark regarding God’s will for our lives. And we only do ourselves a disservice when we vex them.

This verse makes it clear that when we get in the way, our authority can’t help us. We hinder our own growth when we stop them from doing what God has called them to do in our lives. As hard as it may be to believe sometimes, our leaders care, and when we make it hard on them, it makes it harder for them to care for us.


In regards to our time here with Ignite, it seems prudent to me that we take into account the ways in which our leaders are caring for us and that we be mindful of the ways in which we may be making their work unprofitable. For my application today, I will write out a list of ways in which our leadership here has helped our growth and give thanks to God for them. I will also pray that God would give me wisdom for the next week to realize the ways in which I may be making life more difficult on our leaders, so that I might make their work here a joy for them.

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