June 18 – Be a subduer!

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”  (Genesis 1:28  NET)

God’s first words to humanity were for them to subdue the earth and rule over it. In the verses just before this passage the three persons of the Trinity spoke to each other and decided to make man in their own image. As was later ordered in the Ten Commandments, no image of God is ever to be created, this is something that God hates. No wooden carving or metal sculpture can do justice to Almighty God, and so God prohibits it, but WE have been chosen to be His image! God’s desire is for His people to reflect His power and glory so that the world and the people around us will see God in us. He wants us to rule over the world in the manner that He would, and to be His representatives on earth.

The word “subdue” is an unusually strong word for this context. The original Hebrew word is always used for kings and armies, when a king conquers another people and forces them to live under his rule. In the Garden there was no need for this forceful behavior, but God knew that sin would come into the world and that we would have to do battle with unbelief as well as Satan and demons. He also knew that faith would not bring automatic blessings, that being a good person would not guarantee a good life. He knew that we would have to work at our salvation, and work for the miracles and blessings that we want to see. Just like Jesus took authority over Satan and evil on earth, never backed down from healing a blind man or cleansing a leper, never was intimidated by demons but cast them out with a word, God’s first words to the first two people on earth were for them to use His authority and power — subdue the earth and rule over it.

I challenge you to set aside time today — it has to be today — to identify things, and situations that you need to subdue. We’re made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26), He has already blessed us (Adam and Eve’s blessing is ours), but we need to rise up, summon a spiritually audacious faith from deep inside, and do battle with whatever is blocking us from what is rightfully ours. If subduing sounds too aggressive and uncomfortable, get over it!! Just do it!!  This is God’s first command to humanity, and as long as we make excuses for why we can’t do it, we will experience unnecessary problems. It may feel strange at first, but once you start seeing the results, it’ll become second nature.