By: Dee Roberts
Twenty years ago, I had a dream. Some of my dreams are so vivid and specific that I know without a shadow of doubt the dream is from the Lord. The dream was troublesome, and I did not know what it meant. As in Daniel 2:3 Nebuchadnezzar was anxious to know what his dream meant, I too was unsettled by my dream. So, I prayed for the interpretation of my dream.
Submission: what was that? I was raised in a two-parent household where my father was an excellent provider and my mother laid down the law of the land and maintained the order. Both my maternal and paternal grandmothers were dominant in their roles, not oppressive, just strong women. The subject or example of a submissive wife was not shown. Which, as a child, resulted in me not having a perceived value of submission in a marital relationship.
So, you ask, what was the dream?
My husband, Michael, had his neck reattached to his body with stitches that resembled Frankenstein. When I spoke to him, he was very sad and had no zeal. He existed. Devastating to me. The saddest part is I knew that I was the one who had done it.
My spirit was vexed. In my perplexity, I prayed in earnest to the Lord to reveal to me exactly what I had done, and this is what I heard:
“You have be-headed your husband’s headship.”
Ouch!! Even today, when sharing the dream with you, it brings tears to my eyes, because I can still see his expression in the dream, knowing that I dishonored his authority over our family.
So, ladies, let’s talk about the conduct and character of a godly wife. According to 1 Peter 3:1-4 “… wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, so that even if any of them do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external… but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”
I like the Living Bible’s translation, “Wives, fit in with your husbands’ plans; for if they refuse to listen when you talk to them about the Lord, they will be won by your respectful, pure behavior. Your godly lives will speak to them better than any words.” 1 Peter 3:1-2 TLB.
We are to “fit in with our husband’s plans.” How do we do that in 2021? To actually believe that being obedient to the Word of God and believing that His Word is the absolute truth is an admiral quality. How can we, Ladies of Grace, stand firm and be obedient to God’s word today despite the contradictory behavior of women’s advancement of today?
The Word of God says, we are to be subject to our husbands. Subject means to place yourself under your husband, as unto the Lord. Which has an effect bringing him to the Lord, if he is not a believer. Your husband must be respected as the headship of the marriage, according to God’s design. Respect means to admire deeply, regardless of their abilities, qualities, or achievements. Wives are to grant respect to their husbands, whether you agree with him or not, as long as it is not conflicting with the Word of God.
The purpose of marriage on earth is to model the love of Christ with the Church and the response of the Church to Christ.
We as women represent the Church in marriage on this earth. Our response to our husbands, as women of God, must reflect that we understand and are obedient in our conduct and in our character to God’s divine plan for marriage on earth. The headship of the husband in the marriage, represents Christ’s headship of the Church.
“…and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. …Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:31-33
So, what do we do? How do we respond in this day and age to what we know is the truth and to what the world is indoctrinating our society with their relative truth? How do we proceed in being that light that sits on the hill, and teach those in our circles, what God says about our roles as women?
If we are truly lovers of the Lord and His word, we will be obedient. We will proudly submit ourselves to God and His Word, uncompromisingly and unapologetically. Knowing that we will reap the bountiful harvest that only the Lord can give. So, I encourage you as I did so many years ago to follow God’s design for marriage. I can now talk with my husband and know that I never have to see his sadness and knowing I dishonored his authority over our family. That I have chosen God’s way and we are both happier and more successful together for it. We are called to this not because it is easy, but because we are the example to the Church to submit ourselves to God’s authority. We are called to be the light in this dark world by God.
As stated, the revelation that the Lord showed me about my disobedience was over 20 years ago, there have been many times we have strongly disagreed, and my nature wanted to overtly disrespect him by circumventing his authority. But I did not. Ladies, we don’t haveto get out of alignment with the Word of God. In our relationship, I have expressed my opposing views, for us to come to a mutual agreement. However, there have been times when we don’t mutually agree and I have had to seek the Lord in earnest to “fit myself with my husband’s plan”, and I have been obedient. My truest blessing is my husband is a follower of the Lord; however, I know that every woman’s husband is not a follower. But I am a true believer that God’s Word is true, if we conduct ourselves according to 1 Peter 3, we can win them over by our conduct, but while we are waiting, give your husband the honor and respect that he is due.
So, let us “Arise in Health and Multiply in Wholeness”, as we proclaimed through the blood shed on the cross by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the truths that we believe.
#ConductofWives #encouragement #wordofencouragement #Daniel #1Peter #EncouragementforJune #beencouraged #DeeRoberts