When We Lack Submission To God’s Voice
God says,
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”
Ephesians 5:22,23
Today, I would like to discuss why it is both prudent and necessary for all those who believe in Jesus Christ to submit to God as He leads us. From the scriptures quoted above, we understand that Christ, who is likened to our husband, is the head of the church, who is likened to a wife. The point that Paul makes is that just as the church should listen to and obey its head, which is Christ, so too wives, who represent the church, should submit to their own husbands – listening to and obeying them. This understanding is one of the fundamental precepts taught in Bible-based churches, and most believers, at least outwardly, agree with this standard.
However, just like the Pharisees of old used to tie strings between houses so that they could undertake more than a Sabbath-day journey, in our present-day practice of Christian beliefs, there seems to be a lot of “wiggle room” allowed when it comes to obeying God and/or husbands.
An exception does not negate the rule
There is a lot of focus on the “what if’s”, which comprise a very small portion of the submission spectrum, while ignoring the bigger parts of submission that are not in doubt. Yes, of course, if your husband tells you to commit a crime, you are free to disagree. However, just because that is true does not mean that you are free to disagree and disobey the other 99% of what He requests.
There is a systemic problem within Christianity today that has to do with widespread and often wholesale disregard for God’s will in our lives. While we all admit that our Father’s desires should be paramount in our daily walk, we often live as if what He wants is optional. This, in turn, filters down and translates into a similar mindset in our marriages where wives may say that they respect and honor their husbands, but in practice, they disregard and go against their spouse’s will all the time.
Moreover, the church sometimes does things and says things that are patently against God’s will. For example, some people believe that abortion in the case of unplanned pregnancies is okay if it prevents scandal in the church. This happened in the church I used to attend, where female Bible College students would become pregnant out of wedlock, and the pastor’s wife would minister to them by going with them to the abortion clinic. This, of course, was done quietly, but it was completely outside of the will of God.
Likewise, and perhaps even more heinous, many churches encourage their members to ignore direct revelations and goadings of the Holy Spirit for their members to fit in with their doctrinal beliefs, thus aborting the very thing God wants to birth in their midst.
Let’s get one thing straight:
If you will not hear God’s voice, if you will not listen to your heavenly Husband and do His will, then you are not submissive, no matter what you say.
The fact of the matter is that God has something He wants to accomplish, i.e., the redemption of mankind. Furthermore, this redemption has eternal consequences that cannot and will not be reversed after we pass on. Therefore, whatever you may desire to happen, compared to what God needs to take place, is of far less consequence than doing His will today, right this minute.
Therefore, when the church as a whole, or people as individuals, do not listen to God’s voice, they retard or often cancel the important work that He is trying to accomplish. The person or people He is trying to help through you or another are not helped, and many times, this may hinder or even prevent their salvation. Our temporal emotions, misunderstandings, deprivations, or objections should never interfere with the eternal work that Christ is doing through us. We must realize that our heavenly Husband knows best and decide to trust Him and do as He says. It is as simple as that.
A lot is made in our Western culture about a woman’s right to choose, women’s empowerment, emancipation, etc. While we all have free choice, the only choice we should make is to submit to and obey God. For men, this means that we hear God’s voice and do His will no matter what. For women who are joined to a man, this means that as much as lies within you, submit to and trust your man to lead and guide you as He is led by God. If you do not trust your husband in this way, why are you married to Him in the first place? You cannot tell someone that they are the leader of you and your children without giving them the power and authority to do so.
The church and many of those within the church are subverting God’s will every day by paying lip service to His precepts while wholesale doing what they want regardless of what His Spirit says. Our set of rules, which we call doctrines, are often used to our own advantage while ignoring the plain leading of His Holy Spirit that is spoken directly to our spirits. Shame on us! Are we truly being profitable servants if we will not listen to and do what our Master says?
We are bound in mediocrity mostly because we will not venture outside our comfort zones. God often speaks to us, but we do not want to appear to others as different from the norm. We fear ridicule and embarrassment, therefore, we lie to ourselves and think that “it was just a feeling” rather than God speaking to us.
Moreover, pastors and teachers reinforce this tendency to discount God’s voice by constantly saying that the word (their particular take on doctrine) is the only thing a believer can trust. It gives us a sort of plausible denial when we are faced with hearing something uncomfortable from His Spirit.
Here is a truth,
The voice of God spoken directly to you is of greater authority than any doctrine delivered from a pulpit.
When we lack submission to God, the things that God wants to do through us don’t get done. When a wife, who is equally yoked to a Godly man, will not obey and follow her husband, she literally tears down her own home and prevents the blessing that God is trying to bring through her spouse. Being unsubmissive to God has eternal consequences, while being unsubmissive to one’s husband brings both temporal and sometimes eternal consequences.
Stop being something you were not created to be
The church is made to be the Bride of Christ, and it is in our nature to submit to Him. We are created to hear His voice and do His will. When we go beyond our domain, we err and create havoc, preventing the work of redemption. Likewise, when wives do not submit to their husbands, they create disorder and prevent God’s blessing in their own lives and their families’ lives. They become a hindrance mate instead of a help mate, and God’s will is frustrated, and many blessings are lost.
In conclusion, we must open our eyes and see an eternal perspective. What we do in our lifetimes has profound effects if we allow God to work through us as we submit to His voice. All the blessings we desire will be given to us in due time if we first trust and obey what our heavenly Husband asks. For men, it is to submit to His will as they are led by His Spirit. For women, it is to marry in God’s will and then to trust His Spirit to lead and guide your husband as you pray for and support him. For children, it is to honor and obey their parents, for they watch for your souls. Simply conform to His pattern as He has created you, and all will be well.
Amen.