My dear sisters,
It seems that when I am struggling with a certain issue, the Lord brings someone into my life that asks me how to deal with said issue. Ugh. Now I’m forced to biblically look at my own heart as I seek to give her wise counsel that I struggle to apply in my own life. Well, this month’s said issue is submission. Why do I have to submit to my husband? Why can’t it be a mutual thing? After all, I lived 30 years under my own control and think I did a pretty good job…how am I supposed to give up this control the moment I say “I do”? The pat answer is…because the Bible tells me I need to (Eph. 5:22, 24; Col 3:18). Our desire to rule our own lives happened in the garden when Eve decided to go against the good and perfect authority the Lord gave her and eat the fruit. Ever since then, we women LOVE to be in control and try to rule over our husbands…yet this is not how the Lord designed us. He made both men and women in His own image with indescribable worth. However, he gave each different responsibilities that compliment each other. The man’s responsibility is to work and sacrificially love his wife. The woman is to submit to the authority that God gave her husband.
Submission cannot be a bad thing because we see in scripture that Jesus submitted to the will of His Father by dying on the cross. He gave up His home in heaven, humbly took on human flesh and chose to die on the cross when the Father did not remove that cup of suffering from Him. Do you remember what happens after that? The Father raised His Son from the dead, conquering the curse from Adam, and placed Him at His right side. Jesus was glorified!! I don’t think any of us would say that Jesus was less of a person or God by submitting to the Father. They are the same essence, just as we are the same as our husbands in essence…made in the image of God.
OK, so I know the Bible tells me to submit, but practically, how does that work? What if I know I’m right? What if he doesn’t lead me well? What if I don’t trust him? What if I know what he wants our family to do is the worst option? Well, the main question to ask yourself is…”Is he leading us into sin?” If the answer is no, then sisters, we need to submit…even if we think he is wrong. Honestly, I curl my toes and get heartburn at times, yet I need to submit. That is the Lord’s will for us. Submitting brings glory to God and joy to us. It honors our husbands and makes them desire to lead us better. Nevertheless, it is the most difficult thing for us to do sometimes. We need to ask the spirit to help us. We need to ask ourselves why we are not trusting the Lord with how our husbands lead. When we fail to submit…yet again…we need to confess this before the Lord who submitted perfectly for us. Think about how much it hurts when our children do not submit to our leadership. Our husbands feel this pang on a grander scale as we know better than our children. And remember, our husbands also submit to God’s authority over their lives too.
Sisters, we need the spirit to help us do what we can’t do on our own. Our lack of submission should bring us back to our Savior who paid the price for our sin of disobeying our heavenly Father’s design for us…and you know what? We will have joy, both on earth and ultimately, forever in heaven!