Much like the long list in Proverbs 31, these verses in Titus encourage us to live a life that will honor God. Today, we will focus on the concept of . . . . I know it's sounds scary,but . . . . submission. Arg. Don't throw anything at me. This is a lesson that I learned the hard way. The lesson I am still working on daily. Every day.
First and foremost, me must choose daily to submit our will and our plans to Jesus. (Matthew 16: 24-26) Allow God to take control of our agendas and our selfish desires and allow His Holy Spirit to fill us up to overflowing. Get your heart in line with what God is doing, and the whole submit to your husband thing will come easier.
We have to make a choice to submit to our husbands. In the beginning of our marriage, I did not. I chose to lead when he was quiet, I chose to fight for my opinion to be heard, and I missed the mark completely. It wasn't until I got deep into trouble that I finally decided to get deep into the Word of God. Just one verse about submitting to my husband was not getting into my brain. My pride and my stubbornness was standing in the way. Don't fall into the same trap I did. Already there? Let's climb out of this one together.
Dear Lord, I have failed. I pray that you help me to see in Your Word what Your Plan is and help me to be clear as I share with others what I have learned.
My template comes from an inductive study I did. No, I don't work for the publisher, nor am I getting any proceeds from them. But my dear friend Kay Arthur (okay I only met her once a a conference I did on her ranch) wrote a great book titled "Building a Marriage that Really Works." She offers a 6 week study about the subject and you can get deep into the Word and study with her. But here's the quick version:
- God created man first and then the woman (Genesis 2:7-8; 18-20)
- God's intention was for the woman to be a "helper" for the man. (Genesis 2:18) The Hebrew word here translates to one who "comes alongside to support another in a situation" or in other words "a partner every bit his equal whose strengths would compensate for his weaknesses" (page 6 in Kay's book)
- God took a rib from Adam to create the woman from (Genesis 2:21-24) I heard it once said that God didn't use a foot bone so that Eve was seen as lesser or a piece of skull bone to imply that she was greater, but rather a rib bone to be by Adam's side. I love that picture of being by his side.
- God has an order to everything. He outlines the order of leadership in 1 Corinthians 11:3. Hold on to your hats, here is the kicker. The order that God intends for us to live by is for the husband to be over the wife. (ducks head) I told you not to throw anything at me. Read 1 Corinthians 11:3 with me "But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ."
God
Christ
Man
Woman
- Just as Christ, although fully God, chose to submit to the will of the Father, we as wives must choose to submit to our husbands.
To me, that means that my husband makes the family decisions. The kids and I have to look to dad to make the final say. If we are moving to another state, shopping for our family car, or just deciding on a restaurant, my husband has the final say. That doesn't mean that I won't ask for my ideas to be considered. It also doesn't mean that I will always agree. But the days that I choose to submit to my husband's choices are the days that go much smoother. And God did something amazing when I started obeying Him. God gave me a husband that loves Him and loves us. God moved in my husband in ways I didn't know how to pray for. God did it, not me. Wow. Putting things in Biblical order is hard. HARD. But He knows what He is doing and it works.
Submit graciously and thankfully. Submit and watch God WORK in your marriage.
No comments:
Post a Comment