Submission: It’s Not for Sissies

“Submit woman,” booms a joking, but attempting an authoritative voice. Then laughter quickly follows. We all snicker at the idea of submission, especially in our culture of individual rights. Who would ever lay down their own rights and their own desires for someone else?

The problem is that we have submission and oppression confused. Oppression is “prolonged, cruel or unjust treatment or control.” We see it in domestic violence cases or in countries ruled by ruthless dictators. Submission however is “the action of yielding to the will or authority of another person.” In other words the one who submits must choose to submit and cannot be forced to submit. Just as you can force a child to sit down, you cannot force a child to willingly submit to y

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our authority. They are sitting on the outside, but on the inside they are still standing.

So it is with us whether we “submit to one another“ (Ephesians 5:21), “submit to the LORD” (2 Chronicles

30:8), or “submit to the authorities” (Romans 13:5). We are not made to submit, but we are to choose to submit. The very idea rubs us wrong. We have rights and we do not want to lay down our rights for anything. There is the rub. As Christ followers, we are  to trust God and submit.

When we submit to authorities in our lives, we are not necessarily trusting in that authority to do right by us. Instead when we submit, we are trusting God. Here is where I typically knit my brow, put my hand on my hip, and say while I shake my finger, “It feels like I am trusting the one I am submitting to, not God. How is that possible?”

Romans 31:1 says, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”

Does this mean I submit to disobeying God’s law because an authority tells me to? No. Check out Daniel chapter one and see how four young men kept themselves pure before God, while submitting to Babylonian authority. What it does mean, is that we need to be like Christ Jesus, willing to lay down our rights for others.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!”               Philipians 2:3-8

This kind of submission looks more like victory, this kind of submission takes guts.

Father God, thank You for loving me. Please give me the strength to lay down my rights, my way, and submit it You and thus submit to authorities in my life. Forgive me for my lack of submission. Thank You for Jesus, my example. In His Name I pray, Amen.

So are you a sissy?

Timing is Everything

Have you ever looked back over a day or a month or a year and been in awe of God’s perfect timing? How He orchestrates our lives with such minute detail? Have you ever wondered what would have happened if – I was earlier, later, or went a different direction? Maybe things would be different, but most likely God planned it that way. He planned what seemed like random chance. He set in motion what seemed chaos, but turned into something amazing. Psalm 75:2 says, “You [God] say, ‘I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge uprightly.'” God appoints the time. Let’s see how I experienced this in my life.

Last week I was at the Proverbs 31 ministries She Speaks conference. It is a conference for Christian women who feel called to speak, write, or lead in women’s ministry in some capacity. There I had the opportunity to meet with publishers, writing experts, and even a literary agent. I was only guaranteed one appointment. So I carefully and prayerfully chose three people with whom I wanted to meet. I was pleased to find I had appointments with my top two choices. However, I soon discovered that I could ask to meet with other publishers, if there were available appointments. My heart thrilled, but I hated rocking the boat. I watched Sheila, the sweet woman in charge of publisher appointments, running to and fro. I almost didn’t ask. However God was prompting me. So I asked, and waited patiently as Sheila double checked with the publisher if I could take the final slot of the day. The sweet publisher agreed to meet me at 7:45 PM.

So I met with the publisher. She liked my proposal, gave great ideas to make it better, and was not on time. So I ended up thirty minutes late to my peer writing critique group. Once again I had a decision to make. Do I boldly find someone to help me figure out how to get my writing critiqued, or do I just call it a wash and go back to my hotel room? Once again God stepped in and a friend helped me find Julie. She was in charge of the critique groups and because my appointment went late, she critiqued my article. That is important because she mentioned my article to the editor of the Proverbs 31 Woman magazine, Glynnis. Glynnis told me, (through Julie), to submit my article to their magazine for possible publication. It was God’s perfect timing. Only He could orchestrate that day so perfectly. Only He could turn a disaster (being 30 minutes late to a peer critique) into something encouraging. Only He could embolden me to “rock the boat” to set this chain reaction into motion. Only God.

The next time you are running late or someone is making you late, look to God. He knows. He is orchestrating your day for His purpose. Give your frustration, your anxiety, your anger to God. Rest in knowing He knows and has plans for you, even when you are late. You never know what God is setting in motion.

How has God surprised you with His timing? Tell me about it.

The Beginning of Confidence…

Since my post on confidence was so memorable for some, and well liked by others, I decided to share the prayer I mentioned in the Confidence post.  My prayers don’t come out in correct grammar or with proper punctuation.  So please forgive me line editors.  Just know this came from the heart.  I tried to clean it up some.

Here it is:

Lord God; Heavenly Father; God of all creation; Merciful Father; Righteous Judge; all-knowing, omnipotent, Creator of beauty from dust and ash; Lord of victory in what appears defeat; gracious, abundant, overflowing Giver of life.  Rivers run at Your direction, mountains stand at Your word.  The earth and all it contains is held together by You; and You love me!!  You call me daughter.  You sent Your only Son to die for me!  If I was the only one to sin, You still would have sent Him.  Your ways are beyond knowing.  Your thoughts are too big for me to understand; and You desire me to know You.  Lord, You made me!!!  You created my in-most being.  You know me better than I know myself, and You love me!  You ask me to come to You.  You desire me to know You.  You made it possible for me to come to You.  How AMAZING!!  How indescribable!  How truly AWESOME!!  Oh Lord, fill my heart and mind.  Please keep my eyes fixed on Your love, Your wonder, Your majesty, and yet on Your desire to be with me, on Your desire for me to call You daddy!  Help me to run to You.  Help me to remember that in You and You alone can I be complete.  Help me to know that in You alone can I run this race.  In You alone can I be victorious, and in You alone can I be truly loved!!  Amen.