In my last blog, I talked about how the Word of God tells women that we are to submit to our husbands. I have found that there are times when submitting to my husband is easy. Would you like to know my secret of success? Wait for it . . .
I can easily submit to my husband when I agree with him!
The hard part is submitting when I don’t. 😛
Sometimes Tim tells me what he wants us/me to do. Often, he just gives me suggestions or tells me what he would like, but he leaves the final decision up to me.
For example, this summer Tim asked me to go on a trip with him. It was a trip that he felt he needed to take, but I didn’t think that my presence was required. I know he likes me to travel with him, which, after 42 years of marriage, I usually appreciate. However, it seemed that I’d been gone almost half of the summer, and I hadn’t even gotten started on what I had wanted to accomplish during the summer break.
Tim told me the decision was up to me. I did not want to go. So I struggled with it. I knew my attitude was wrong, but I could justify my reasoning in my head.
I finally decided that I would go out of obedience to God and love for my husband. I knew I would please Tim by going, and I was hoping to please the Lord by pleasing my husband. However, my attitude still stank.
I once saw a Dennis the Menace cartoon in which Dennis was sitting in the corner. He was thinking, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside!” It reminds me of my mental state at that time.
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5: 21-22, 27-28), Jesus makes it clear that God is concerned about the attitudes of our hearts. If we submit with bad attitudes, our efforts are like wood, hay, and straw that will be burned up when tested and count for nothing. I knew I needed to have the right attitude while submitting.
I asked God for His help, and He gave me the grace to go cheerfully. He helped me remember that I was doing this, not just for Tim, but for Him, the God who “is good, is in control, and loves me,” and therefore I could go with a cheerful and thankful heart.
Thanks to the Lord, we were able to have a pleasant trip!
When you submit, are you “sitting down on the outside, but standing up on the inside”? Ask God to change your heart, and give Him thanks. Yes, even in this!
Lyndsay,
This post really struck home with me! I have found that reciting certain scriptures helps me a lot, because for many years I struggled with submitting with joy. I’m so grateful the Holy Spirit has worked on me, because now I just consider it “agreeing in love.”
Great reminder, Robin! Thanks!