Hi guys!!! I’m so sorry for the delayed post🙈 … Things have been a little topsy-turvy at this end, and I almost gave up the opportunity to share with you this month 🙈. It’s my turn to do an exclusive (yay!) and I will be sharing on submission, and all that it entails as a young lady in a relationship… You know the deal: Alan’s contributions will be written in blue and mine in italics.
Enjoy!
The most popular verse in scripture that speaks to submission is:
Ephesians 5:22. “For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” (NLT).
I am no wife, so as much as I can condition my mind to this in the future, I will share how I have learnt to apply Kingdom principles in my relationship.
From what I’ve learnt in my relationship with God, submission flows out of love. In the Old Testament, we see God’s chosen people, the Israelites, living in a cyclical manner of professing submission to God, taking things into their own hands soon after, getting reprimanded or defeated in war and coming back to God in submission. I have come to understand that inasmuch as the Israelites were stubborn, their hearts were not conditioned to love God enough to maintain a perpetual posture of submission to Him.
There are countless scriptural references and passages that speak about the need to “humble oneself before God, and submit to Him” (Job 22:21-30). We also have countless songs of worship that speak about submitting to God, a great example is William McDowell’s I surrender all to you. With these, the concept of submission is not very far-fetched.
I have come to understand that the purpose of a man and woman walking together is to reflect the ideal love relationship between Christ and the Church. I used the word ‘ideal’ here, because the Church has not been living up to expectation (though she has tried,) since the Old Testament days. Inferring from the analogy Paul makes in the 5th chapter of the book of Ephesians, there is a standard to look up to in relating with your partner. I think it is summarized in
Ephesians 5: 21: “… Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ…”
With this in mind, it is obvious that anything I do in an attempt to “submit” to Alan is not for Alan, but for God. Especially since we have been conscious about submitting our lives and this relationship to God. I mean, one can’t worship God with only one aspect of their lives – it has to be the whole package.
Many times, I have found that I just can’t stand/accept Alan’s mindset or decision about an issue. Of course, I will argue till it is obvious I’m making no headway (Alan is very headstrong, on certain issues – as am I on almost all issues😂). It is usually at this point where I realise I should just let it go and commit it to prayer, because truly, Alan is the kind of person that submits to God’s authority (It is very necessary, imagine a wife who has to submit to a husband who doesn’t revere God – is that one too a Husband?😂). He has no authority over me, other than what God will give him (Considering we are unmarried, I am not her “head”, we are both directly under the authority of GodJ). Usually, either God touches Alan’s heart and changes his mind, or God touches my heart and changes my perception of the situation. Disclaimer: This is not the ideal process of handling things – the prayer should be first and the arguing should not exist. But well,🤷🏾♀️
I anticipate that in the future, being a submissive wife will mean the same as being a respectful wife. I have no prior knowledge or experience in that field, so I wouldn’t know. However, I know that as a member of the body of Christ, it is essential to love my neighbours, (everyone around me) and accord them the utmost respect; more so, the person I am journeying with, in hopes to reach the covenant of marriage.
With this mindset, I have realised that bending the knee to my King and father makes it much easier to respect and love and “submit” to Alan even now, when He is no more than very very very close friend. (😂– because that’s what we are, or?) Eventually, God may crown Alan with success and officially reward him with a good thing😉. Until then, we submit to one another and walk in faith, hope, and love. It is not always easy, but it is possible and necessary.
I mean, look what Israel went through after refusing to submit to God. I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to roam in clueless circles in the wilderness of my life for forty years!
Have a blessed and glorious September!!!