“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:42 NKJV
Submission is a topic that is not very well liked now days because of tainted views of it. As a woman, I can be looked at crazy for saying I submit to my husband. As one who follows Jesus, it’s confusing if I say I’m submitted to Him. Submitting to a man or woman of God is considered foolish. Submission is a word that our society thinks is outdated or antiquated or extremely perverse. But when I look at the life of Jesus on earth, it screams the opposite.
Submission- the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.
One thing I have learned is that it is unlikely to be submissive and not obedient. Wherever we see that we struggle to submit just might be pointing to how we really are with God. In this passage, Jesus was about to give His life on the cross. But in a moment where He felt the pain that He had never felt before, He wanted His assignment, His task, His purpose to be done another way. But we see that He quickly submitted to the plan and said “Not my will, but yours be done.”
Because most of us struggle to have this posture with Jesus, it’s almost unrealistic to expect to have this posture with our spouse, or a leader, or a boss. Submission requires trust. It requires humility. It requires maturity. It requires selflessness. It requires responsibility. It requires pushing another’s vision even when you have your own idea of how things should be done. It's not abuse but it's trusting another completely with your life.
Don’t you know that the apostle Peter tried to tell Jesus that he wasn’t going to let Him die on the cross? He wanted there to be another way. Submission does not mean that you don’t have ideas or plans or concepts. But it means that you put it aside to be a part of something greater than what you feel at the moment. Submission is one of those things that many know they struggle with but don’t see it as a big issue. But if we don’t learn how to fully submit to God’s plans and instructions for us, we’ll be stuck in the same place doing the same things.
Aren’t you ready for something different? Aren’t you ready for something more? Aren’t you ready to embrace what you know God is calling you to? None of that will happen if you don’t first submit. In a time where we’re encouraged to do what we want, to live however we feel, to be our own master, will you choose to submit? Will you submit your plans, your relationships, your mind, and your will? Many of us have not seen our true potential because we refuse to submit. What will you choose today? Will you echo the words of Jesus and say “not My will, but Yours, be done”? Your very life is depending on your decision to submit to God’s will over your own.
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