True Submission

I know in today's culture, most women cringe when they hear the word SUBMISSION because that is how many women perceive it...bold...dominating...all caps, all powerful...with no room leftover. However, that is submission out of context. Submission is a willingness to yeild or comply to another's desires or authority without resistance. True submission is not forced, but rather given or offered from a heart overflowing with love. I think it is vitally important to explore the barriers to submission or traps that the enemy sets to keep true submission from manifesting in marriages. The enemy is a master at perversion and redefining with the goal of restricting the blessing of submission.


1) Power struggle - This is the same tactic that Satan used in the Garden of Eden. He put a seed of doubt in Eve's mind...Did God really say?? Adam and Eve ate the fruit that had a false promise attached to it. The false promise is that they could rule over themselves rather than God ruling over them. It was a direct challenge to God's perfect order. Today, that same seed of doubt has been placed in women's minds. Did God really say to submit to my husband? Yes He did. Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." It is a divine order.

2) Vendetta over Value - Much of the resistance and internal struggle that women face with submission is over a confusion of value. We must remember that marriage is God ordained and a God idea. The position or role one holds does not undermine the value at all. We are equal in the Spirit. That is why God Himself can be both Servant and Lord. Jesus washed the disciple's feet and yet He is King of Kings. The Trinity is the most perfect example to convey value. Jesus was both 100% God and 100% man. He surrendered unto the Father and said in Luke 22:42, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done." Submitting to the Father did not change the value that Jesus had. In contrast, it magnified it because of the power of unity. The wife is just as valuable as the husband, because they are one.

3) Husband's Misuse of Authority - Husbands are armed with a huge responsibility to love their wives as Christ loved the church (see Ephesians 5:25). This means all that the husband has, he willingly gives to his wife without hesitation. Men that withhold love, money, time, loyalty, or protection are not following the Biblical mandate for leadership. To lead is to serve. Submission is a choice. It is not to be demanded, abused, or forced. God gave all of us a free will and he chose us and wants us to choose Him. His love for us compels us to obey and submit to Him. Similarly, a husband that loves his wife so boundlessly and extravagently will inevitably lead to his wife WANTING to submit to him.

A picture of perfect submission equates to perfect unity. God hand-picked marriages so that we may rule and reign as king and queen, husband and wife. If a queen turned against the king, this would create division. However, there is a reigning authority in the unity of marriage that leads to an expansion of territory in all realms: spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I like to picture a couple holding hands. Together, when two hands join, it makes 10 fingers. According to Christian Resources Today, the number 10 represents "completeness that happens in a divine order." Wow...

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