Becoming a Woman of Wisdom and Grace

This post has taken me three days to write. One, because I’ve been studying this subject and putting the new things I have learned into action. Two, because my kids were needing some time with me. The life of a wife and mother never stops.

The subject today is Submitting and let me tell you, so many people are scared of this. As I searched things and read forums on the topic, all I saw was a general “I’m not doing that” answer. I’ll admit, I was scared too, but from the new things I have learned, the risk is worth the reward.

We live in a society where submission to anyone is shown as a prison. Where if we want to make someone else happy, it needs to be on our terms only and usually involves a “what do they do for me” attitude. But what does the Bible say on it and how does the Proverbs 31 woman fit in?

Colossians 3:18-19 tells us ” Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”

Both verses here are different types of Submission. God designed us differently than our spouses to be able to have our own roles. While we aren’t going to really dig deep into the husbands side, just know its there too. God calls women to submit and respect, while He calls the Husbands to love the wife. For women, love is easy. Its what we are meant to do. Men on the other hand give out respect easily. So with Him calling us to do the opposite of what is easy for us, its showing us who we are willing to do it for.

Submitting is by definition, accepting to yielding to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person. Which kind of sounds harsh. The Bible defines it a little bit differently. It says, to willingly place oneself under another’s authority out of reverence to God, not as a sign of inferiority.

Doing this for your partner is an act of humility, trust, obedience and surrendering yourself to Gods will, while also working with your partner for Gods will in their life. It shows you truly care/ love them. You are willing to grow and change things that will not only get you closer with them but with God as well.

In studying Proverbs 31, humility, trust and obedience are three of the characteristics that we are working towards. Sounds hard when you listen to the worlds perspective, but when you look at it from the Bibles way, its actually relatively easy.

I’m not sure about you but I want to submit to my husband. To have our gender roles and know that He is pursuing the same goals that I am. Trusting that we are both growing in our faith and letting everything else fall into the correct places. Ultimately letting him lead our household.

Its not always easy to do. Temptation can be a tricky thing, but withstanding it is well worth it. That temporary pleasure of being prideful or doing what you want will not lead to lasting contentment. Temptation will have you comparing yourself, fighting with your partner, comparing them and eventually heartbreak in your relationship.

Getting past these things with open communication is well worth it though. The past few post we have talked about how its OK to fail sometimes, releasing your pride to gain wisdom, open communication with God just like you have open communication with your partner and surrendering control. As we see God as the leader of our life, we have to see our partner as the leader of the home, the same as they see us like God sees the church.

To submit doesn’t mean you are losing your freedom. It means you are gaining a better relationship with God and your partner. You are opening up the next level to become the person God wants you to be. I will continue to work on my submission. There will be times I fail but as long as I learn from it, I can go right back to working on it again.