Submitted

Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!

This past Sunday I had one of those rare instances to not be in the house of God for service. I wanted to hear some Word and  flipped on the radio. I caught a man sermonizing on the subject of submission. Though I had often heard teaching on this subject I felt compelled to listen. I am so glad that I did for I gained some great revelation from the broadcast!

He jokingly spoke of the difficulty of ministering on submission as the subject made many uncomfortable, especially women. But he asserted that the subject of submission is not a 'male' and 'female' issue! This of course got my attention because in most instances we hear of the subject from this standpoint. He talked about how the difficulty for us to submit is a human issue! He said NO flesh wants to submit!

He went on to say that according to scripture submission is necessary for God's order to be manifested. How ultimately it is simply about what the Bible says. The Bible happens to say man is the head of his family and the wife submits to him. The preacher said God could have just as easily said children are the head and parents submit, or women are the head and men submit. He asserted that whatever the Bible says that's what we do -- it is what it is. But he said he wanted to delve more into what it means to submit . . . that through understanding we could have more success in being submitted.

Again, the issue is not our sex -- whether male or female; it's the submission to authority. We do not want our Home Owner's Association telling us what color to paint our door -- we do not want our boss telling us we cannot take a break now -- we do not want the CHP officer signaling us to stop -- we do not want our child's principal telling us we cannot go into the classroom . . . plainly put most of us struggle with authority.

I was still listening intently to this radio preacher. He was dealing in the WHY it can sometimes be difficult to align ourselves with God's process for order. And it is important that we get this because God's order is necessary to create an atmosphere that will produce God's blessings. God does not dwell in confusion and disorder. At least that's what I thought as I listened. I began to think that conquering the flesh in this area is vital because being stiff-necked and resisting Godly order can completely block one's blessings!

The last thing that the speaker said was most important. He talked about how to bring one's self into a place of submission. He spoke to wives -- but the information certainly generalizes to any person towards any authority in our lives. He said, "Being submitted does not mean that you make yourself subservient. Being submitted means that you treat your husband like he is a leader!" I began thinking too that if we put someone in the proper place it could also help him or her rise to the occasion if they lack leadership ability.

Well, it was just then that the broadcast went off! They had where you could send away for the remainder of the message -- but I got what I needed to send me on my own journey. I immediately thought, "Lord, how do you properly treat someone as a leader in a way that will produce the relationship that produces blessedness?" I will tell you what I found next week in Submitted: Part II!

Have a wonderful week in Him!

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell