In our last post, we revealed the key to survival in any marriage, that word that the world hates, called submission. If you missed it, make sure to go back and read it at The Key To Survival In Any Marriage – Part 1.
Picking up where we left off James 4:7 says this:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
And we talked about this crazy human tendency to do exactly the opposite of what it says. Most people end up submitting to the devil and they refuse to submit to God. On the contrary they actually end up resisting God! Think about it. If we are not yielding…submitting to God, what is it we are doing? Refusing to do the one is doing the other. It’s rebellion.
The god of this world is rebellion personified. Everywhere he has influence, you will see it come out. This refusal to submit. You can see it in a lot of places. The spirit of disobedience…rebellion.
Look at Ephesians 2:1-3. It says this:
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
But if we’ll submit to God, both husband and wife, when the enemy comes against them and they are submitting to God, they can come together and resist the devil and he WILL flee.
So lets talk about what submission really is. It literally means to be under, to yield, to give place to. If two people are at an impasse, if somebody DOESN’T give in we know what can happen. But how do we get past it? Somebody has to give in. And somebody has to submit. And you get past it and the devil HATES IT!
So submission is taking your place under. Then when it says submit to God, what does that mean? Well this might help clarify that. There is a big push today, unfortunately even in church people, that we are all equal. That is not so. God has given each one a place. And if you defy that, you defy the One who put them in that place.
Here are three things that submission is NOT.
- Agreement – Why are so many couples getting divorced? Because they don’t agree. If you agree, you are not submitting, you are agreeing.
- Easy – Submission is not easy. For ANYONE! EVER!
- Being forced – It is not someone making you do something. The Bible says, “submit yourself.” NEVER try to make your spouse submit!
Lets look at a Bible example of submission to God. Go to Matthew 26:39. Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane. And at this point in time, His will was not perfectly in line with the Father’s.
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “ O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Here is a great example by Jesus about submission. Submitting His will to the will of the Father. He’s not wanting to do it, but He’s willing to do it. Jesus is the perfect example for us when it comes to submitting to God. Look at Hebrews 5:7 (NIV)
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
And if you go back and look at the story in the garden, Jesus prayed three times! The same thing. And there is something that happens after submission…after humbling yourself. What does God do for the humble? He gives grace. And it will begin to come. And you’ll be able to get through things that thousands of others haven’t made it through. You could probably say that was one of the toughest places in Jesus’ life. And how did He make it through? Yes it was love and it was faith, but it was demonstrated in His submission.
