Elisabeth Elliot Daily DevotionalAuthor: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: Keep A Quiet Heart
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 11:10
What Do You Mean By Submission?
People are always asking me this. What is this business of "submission"
you're always talking about? We're not really very comfortable with this.
Seems kinds of negative. Sounds as though women are not worth as much as
men. Aren't women supposed to exercise their gifts? Can't they ever open
their mouths?
I wouldn't be very comfortable with that kind of submission either. As a
matter of fact, I'm not particularly comfortable with any kind, but since it
was God's idea and not mine, I had better come to terms with what the Bible
says about it and stop rejecting the whole thing just because it is so often
misunderstood and wrongly defined. I came across a lucid example of what it
means in 1 Chronicles 11:10, NEB: "Of David's heroes these were the chief,
men who lent their full strength to his government and, with all Israel,
joined in making him king." There it is. The recognition, first of all, of
God-given authority. Recognizing it, accepting it, they then lent their full
strength to it, and did everything in their power to make him--not
them--king.
Christians-- both men and women--recognize first the authority of Christ.
They pray "Thy will be done." They set about making an honest effort to
cooperate with what He is doing, straightening out the kinks in their own
lives according to His wishes. A Christian woman, then, in submission to
God, recognizes the divinely assigned authority of her husband (he didn't
earn it, remember, he received it by appointment! . She then sets about
lending her full strength to helping him do what he's supposed to do, be
what he's supposed to be--her head. She's not always trying to get her own
way. She's trying to make it easier for him to do his job. She seeks to
contribute to his purpose, not to scheme how to accomplish her own.
If this sounds suspiciously like some worn-out traditionalist view, or
(worse) like a typical Elisabeth Elliot opinion, test it with the
straightedge of Scripture. What does submission to Christ mean? "Wives,
submit yourself to your husbands, as to the Lord." Compare and connect.
I got this in my inbox a few days ago.
I know the women of the world and even Christian women cringe at that word - "submission".
It's not a dirty word, in fact it's a blessed word!
Count it a blessing to be able to submit to your husband. To have him as your protection, to be able to meet his needs.
Oh sure we all have our days where listening and obeying our husbands is the last thing we want to do. I have days like that. Normally it's because I am tired or sick and for once I want to be pampered...LOL.
Nah, really, is your husband happy? What could you do as a woman of God to better improve communication between you and your beloved?
When your groom comes home from work, does he come home to dinner finished or almost done, a few candles glowing off the walls and some soft music in the background? Or does he comes home to chaos? The house a disaster, the children going insane and you on your last nerve?
Do we greet our husbands with a hug or kiss or smile or with "you would not believe my day" and go on and on about your horrid day before he has a chance to relax?
I am telling you what Sisters, if you meet the needs of your husbands, your marriage will not only be stronger, but you will be treated like a Princess! Now not all husbands catch on as quickly as some others do, but don't give up on him.
We should be our husbands biggest cheerleader! He needs to know we can count on him, that we are here for him, failures and all! :) No need to criticize our beloveds if they have messed up, they already know they made a mistake. Enourage them and maybe provide them with another route to take.
The women of the world consider submission as being a doormat to our men.
Oh but they are severely misguided.
When I serve my husband, I am serving Jesus.
I don't look at my tasks and chores as demeaning or slavery but as a way to better please my love and the Lord. :)
I hope you all have a blessed weekend.
Love in Christ,
Dawn
Source: Keep A Quiet Heart
Scripture: 1 Chronicles 11:10
What Do You Mean By Submission?
People are always asking me this. What is this business of "submission"
you're always talking about? We're not really very comfortable with this.
Seems kinds of negative. Sounds as though women are not worth as much as
men. Aren't women supposed to exercise their gifts? Can't they ever open
their mouths?
I wouldn't be very comfortable with that kind of submission either. As a
matter of fact, I'm not particularly comfortable with any kind, but since it
was God's idea and not mine, I had better come to terms with what the Bible
says about it and stop rejecting the whole thing just because it is so often
misunderstood and wrongly defined. I came across a lucid example of what it
means in 1 Chronicles 11:10, NEB: "Of David's heroes these were the chief,
men who lent their full strength to his government and, with all Israel,
joined in making him king." There it is. The recognition, first of all, of
God-given authority. Recognizing it, accepting it, they then lent their full
strength to it, and did everything in their power to make him--not
them--king.
Christians-- both men and women--recognize first the authority of Christ.
They pray "Thy will be done." They set about making an honest effort to
cooperate with what He is doing, straightening out the kinks in their own
lives according to His wishes. A Christian woman, then, in submission to
God, recognizes the divinely assigned authority of her husband (he didn't
earn it, remember, he received it by appointment! . She then sets about
lending her full strength to helping him do what he's supposed to do, be
what he's supposed to be--her head. She's not always trying to get her own
way. She's trying to make it easier for him to do his job. She seeks to
contribute to his purpose, not to scheme how to accomplish her own.
If this sounds suspiciously like some worn-out traditionalist view, or
(worse) like a typical Elisabeth Elliot opinion, test it with the
straightedge of Scripture. What does submission to Christ mean? "Wives,
submit yourself to your husbands, as to the Lord." Compare and connect.
I got this in my inbox a few days ago.
I know the women of the world and even Christian women cringe at that word - "submission".
It's not a dirty word, in fact it's a blessed word!
Count it a blessing to be able to submit to your husband. To have him as your protection, to be able to meet his needs.
Oh sure we all have our days where listening and obeying our husbands is the last thing we want to do. I have days like that. Normally it's because I am tired or sick and for once I want to be pampered...LOL.
Nah, really, is your husband happy? What could you do as a woman of God to better improve communication between you and your beloved?
When your groom comes home from work, does he come home to dinner finished or almost done, a few candles glowing off the walls and some soft music in the background? Or does he comes home to chaos? The house a disaster, the children going insane and you on your last nerve?
Do we greet our husbands with a hug or kiss or smile or with "you would not believe my day" and go on and on about your horrid day before he has a chance to relax?
I am telling you what Sisters, if you meet the needs of your husbands, your marriage will not only be stronger, but you will be treated like a Princess! Now not all husbands catch on as quickly as some others do, but don't give up on him.
We should be our husbands biggest cheerleader! He needs to know we can count on him, that we are here for him, failures and all! :) No need to criticize our beloveds if they have messed up, they already know they made a mistake. Enourage them and maybe provide them with another route to take.
The women of the world consider submission as being a doormat to our men.
Oh but they are severely misguided.
When I serve my husband, I am serving Jesus.
I don't look at my tasks and chores as demeaning or slavery but as a way to better please my love and the Lord. :)
I hope you all have a blessed weekend.
Love in Christ,
Dawn
8 comments:
Hi Dawn,
I came to your blog by way of Michelle and I find it very interesting...
please come visit me on my blog and I will visit you again... your quest for a plain life is very intriguing to me...
Well said!
I hope you have a lovely weekend, Dawn. :o)
Dawn, recently I watched a video on 'Visionary Daughters', where Jennie Chancey defines the essence of feminism: 'Not what God says - what I say'; rejecting authority and rebelling against God's word is prominent in our culture today, and just look where it brought us.
Well said!! It is so common to see submission as a dirty word, even in christian circles. But you are right it is a blessing!!
Luv Ya
Sis Amy
Great post and thank you for writing it!
Submission is something I struggle with, despite the loveliest husband in the world and happy marriage of 16 years. Thank you for your post. I would like to come back and read more of your blog.
Kate
Submission has always been a bad word for me. I just can't hardly stand it. Not that I don't do it. I just have this fight in me that can't stand the word. I submit to my hubby everyday. I have a real authority complex. It comes from certain men in my life holding that one word over my head for years. Even hubby has leanred not to pull the "man law" thing on me. It gets him no where but in an argument.
Yep, I have issues. But, God still loves me anyway. LOL
I have a weird way of submitting to my husband. If he don't want to see a person or not getting anything I have to follow through with it. Like today I wanted to go to Hobby Lobby and Michael's to get stuff for card making. My husband said not today wait until after your Birthay party next week. So we are awaiting when we have the Birthday Party.
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