I did a post a while back in my relationship series that talked about submission in terms of relationships. So because of that I won’t dive too deeply into it, but I do feel like it is necessary to at least give an updated understanding on the term submission and expand it to other kinds of relationships. 

I believe submission is the key to living a joyful and peaceful life in this world. Submission to God should be a priority in our life. I believe submission means trust and with that trust comes peaceful rest in the knowledge that you need only be still and follow. 

That doesn’t sound so bad now does it? So why do we get our panties all in a wad when someone says we should be submitting? Is it because we are putting our faith in people instead of God? Is it because we are trusting the wrong kind of people and that scares us? 

I believe that if we are careful about who we align ourselves with, as in who we marry, then the word submission shouldn’t be so scary. It simply means follow and trust. Ultimately God is sovereign and His design for you is good. But we have to lay down our own desires and ambitions to allow God to take the lead. 

Technically you submit to your employers when you accept a job from them. You submit to the law when you stop at a red light. You submit to the bench when you sit on it. You get the picture- you submit to others all the time. Why does it have to be any different with the relationships in your life; God, parents, husband, teachers, etc. 

‘Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. ‘ Genesis 2:18-24

God created us as humans to form bonds with and rely on each other, let’s think back to the very first man and woman.

The Lord made man in His image and then knew that he could not be alone, so then he made animals, but still there was no perfect mate, so God created woman. A human. To be the perfect mate. We are created to live life together in harmony and unison with the Lord and with one another. In a marriage this means you are not pitted against one another but rather tied together in unison. We talked about being equally yoked in the last post where if you are both going the same direction, then submission simply means trust, because there is no need to fight back.

The same is true with your other relationships. If you have the right people who are going in the right direction then you need only rest in their leadership and direction. Now if they are not in alignment with God, then that is a problem, especially with, say, your parents or teachers or boss, because you can’t exactly unyoke yourself from them. This is when you must have submission unto God first. You must rely on his leading and direction.

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬-‭24‬ ‭

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭

“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭13‬-‭15‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭

If you still aren’t sold on the idea of submission, then I recommend you begin looking inward and seeing if maybe you are the problem. It shouldn’t feel like a battle to truly submit to the right influences and leadership, and when there are no humans that fit that description for you, then lean on the Lord for your guidance.