The Power Of Submission

I know. I said THAT word, and being a woman in 2016 I’ve committed an atrocity, an injustice to women everywhere.

Do you think that Eve had not submitted to Adam before she gave him the fruit that led to the curse of sin? Many would say she hadn’t but that she had in fact submitted to Satan. I’ll give you that, because she did.

Let’s take our own relationships as an example.

My husband will take my advice into consideration whenever I bring it to him. It’s not because of anything wonderful that I have done, but it is because I listen to him and respect him as the head of our household and the man in my life.

Has it been easy? Absolutely not. I grew up in a single parent home and my father wasn’t in my life (save a few phone calls) after he and my mother split.

When my husband and I first got married I had no idea what this respect was that he wanted. I wasn’t mean to him, and I did what I thought I should as a wife. Him asking me to respect him as a man was baffling to me because I had no idea how to do it.

Yes, I had grown up in church and heard all the sermons before, but this is a thing that you have to see lived in order to fulfill it in your own life. After much prayer I began to notice that we were having this intense discussion less frequently. I was gathering this respect thing pretty well.

No one can receive from someone they are always at odds with. Even children grasp this concept. For instance, my daughter wanted to spend the night at a friend’s house and we are tight with those kinds of things in our house; we need at least a weeks notice and I have to talk to the parents to be sure everything is what I’m being told it is. Even with all this in place if that child hasn’t spent the night at my home, I’m not letting my child spend the night there. You can discern a person’s home life by their behavior, even when their parents aren’t around.

Knowing the obstacles she would face (especially since it was only 2-3 days before she wanted to go) she was on her best behavior. I didn’t have to ask for the things I usually do and she did her chores to perfection. Did this guarantee her a “yes”? No, it didn’t but she knew she didn’t stand a chance without it. Honestly, with the way she was behaving and cleaning I couldn’t tell her no (and this was a long time friend of hers who mother I had built a rapport with, so I had no qualms about letting her go).

That’s the power of submission.

My husband barely ever tells me “no” and if he has to there is always a promise attached. It’s usually something like “not right now boo, but give me a few days.”.

It’s because I’ve submitted to his role as my husband and I strive daily to be a Godly wife who makes her husband proud. When you submit to your husband you are building him up. Other people can tell this and will hold your husband in high regard. People will be hard pressed to respect a man who can’t keep his own household together.

Submission doesn’t mean that I just sit around and look pretty. Quite the opposite. It means I’m up praying for my husband before he’s even awake. It means I’m getting instructions from God regarding my husband and children and putting God’s plan for my family into action. By submitting to my husband I am submitting to God and His plan for my life as wife and a mother. Submitting to my husband means that while I may walk behind him my eyes can see further than his. A man who is focused on providing can only see that far. He can only worry about the bills being paid and food on the table. He can’t see the spiritual battles the children may be facing, and frankly it’s not his job to see it. While providing for his family he can’t be concerned with much else. The market place is tough and he needs to be covered in prayer and respected in his home so he can focus and stay aware. Providing is a tough obstacle to deal with. There are tons of moving parts and he has to stay ready and creative. By submitting you let him do that.

When your husband knows he is covered he can come home after a tough day and love you and his family as he should. If he has to fight battles at home when is he able to love? When can he be vulnerable to your wants, needs and desires?

Hear what I’m saying with this: The King may rule the kingdom, but it’s done on the shoulders of the Queen.