Submit When You Don't Have To

But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.

Esther 2:20

Esther is now the queen of Persia! She has wealth and power at her disposal. As Esther's adoptive father, Mordecai has no authority over her anymore! But Esther didn’t allow the power and the money and the position to harden her heart or turn her rebellious. Instead, she remembered the man who took her in as his own daughter when she was orphaned. And Esther chose to continue to honor her adoptive father and submit to his advice… even when she didn’t have to anymore.

In this way, Esther sets an example for us to follow. Many of us chafe under authority. I mean who likes having someone tell you what to do? No one! And oftentimes we are far too eager to break free from and get out from under the godly, loving authorities that God has placed in our lives... like our parents.

Let Esther be a reminder to you that even as adults we can honor our parents and submit to their instruction. If you are blessed enough to have godly people like that in your life, then avoid the temptation to be proud and rebellious. Choose to submit yourself to the advice of the godly even when you don't have to. Often, that's the wisest course. Because often… they actually know what they are talking about.

The Submission of Mary and Jesus

Have you ever considered how Mary's story points forward to Jesus’ story and mission? One unmistakable overlap between the two is submission to the Father's will. 

Consider how Mary responded to the angel Gabriel on that fateful day when he made his announcement to her. She said... “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38)

Like all young women, I'm sure that Mary had plans for her life, hopes and dreams. And here God’s angel comes along with a wonderful announcement for her, but one which will alter the course of her life and make it difficult in many ways. And what does Mary say? She doesn’t do what Moses did. She doesn’t ask God to go find someone else. She doesn’t suggest Gabriel go talk to her friend down the street. No! Mary immediately submitted to God’s plan for her life because she saw herself as God’s servant.

Jesus submitted to the Father in the same way. Consider, for example, Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus didn’t want to suffer. He knew how cruel and torturous a crucifixion was. He knew that He would feel every lash and blow. He knew that the humiliation would sting. Yet, what did Jesus say? “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Philippians 2:8 puts it this way. It says Jesus “became obedient to death— even death on a cross!”

Are you that submitted to the Father’s will for your life? Do you see yourself as His servant or as the master of your own fate? 

I want to challenge you to submit to the Lord today by echoing the words of Mary and Jesus. Would you be willing to prayer this prayer to the Lord today? 

Dear Heavenly Father - I am your servant… not my will but yours be done. I fully and freely submit to you. Do with my life what you will.

Prayer that prayer today and see what God will do with your life. 

Creation Puts Us To Shame

Who shut up the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,

when I fixed limits for it

and set its doors and bars in place,

when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;

here is where your proud waves halt’?

Job 38:8-11

A few weeks ago, I went to the beach on vacation. I love to watch the waves crash into the shore. It's almost like the hit a barrier that they cannot pass. In fact, this is basically what the passage above saves is true. At creation God told the seas, "You can go this far and no further," and they continue to obey Him perfectly. They never go beyond the boundaries He set for them except at His command. The same is true of the stars and celestial bodies. God set them in their course, and they keep to it, never deviating from it except at His command. In fact, Psalm 74:17 says of God, "It was You who set all the boundaries of the earth..." God placed boundaries on all His creation, and the whole of creation obeys His command to this very day, never transgressing the boundaries He has put in place... except for man.

You see, God has placed boundaries on mankind as well. Particularly on our behavior. He has told us, "You may go this far and no further." But we transgress His command, don't we? Ever since Adam and Eve transgressed that first boundary our hearts have been unruly and untamable. In this way, creation puts us to shame. It is perfect in obedience, where we are anything but. 

That is why Christianity must be about more than just forgiveness of sins. It must also be about lordship. Becoming a Christian is more than just asking for forgiveness for all the times you've transgressed God's boundaries. It is also about submitting yourself to His boundaries and ordering your life by His authority again. Romans 10:9 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

So, let all of us who have confessed Jesus as Lord, take a lesson from the rest of creation, and submit ourselves to the limits God has placed on us. He created us, and He has the right to tell us "You can go this far and no further." 

Have you been coloring outside the lines? Is there a boundary you have been crossing? If so, it isn't a trivial thing. Ask forgiveness and submit yourself to God. 

Your Marriage isn't About You

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5:31-33

As I write this, my wife and I are celebrating our thirteenth wedding anniversary, and I can honestly say that I love her more today than I did thirteen years ago when we stood in that little church and said our vows. But every marriage has its moments. Moments when you argue with one another. Moments when you wonder if you are headed for divorce. Moments when you get so angry with your spouse that you consider doing the worst, most underhanded thing you can do in a marriage... going through the house and flipping all the toilet paper rolls so the paper comes off the wrong side of the roll and drives your spouse crazy. (Side note: if you didn't know there was a right way for the toilet paper to come off the roll, then you probably aren't married yet.) 

But in those moments when you feel angry and vindictive that your spouse isn't bending to your will, or fulfilling your every need, or doing what you want, remember what Scripture says in Ephesians 5. Your marriage isn't about you. It's about Jesus and His church. Marriage is a picture for all the world to see of Jesus' relationship to the church. Christ's relationship to His church is primary, and your marriage is secondary. 

That means that for Christians marriage is a sanctifying experience. You aren't supposed to bend your spouse to your will; you are supposed to help them conform into the image of Christ. Their job isn't to make you happy, but to live to make Christ happy. Marriage is about helping one another become what Jesus wants you to be. Sometimes that means helping your spouse see the sin in their lives. All the time that requires loving your spouse in spite of the sin in their lives. 

Your marriage has been designed by God to display the glories of Jesus' relationship with His bride the church. Your marriage should make people want to join the church. For that to happen, men must love their wives as they love themselves. Earlier in the chapter this point is made even stronger when men are admonished to "love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" (v25). What man could ever live up to that standard? Wives are encouraged to respect their husbands, but again this is phrased more strongly earlier in the passage when we are told that "wives should submit to their husbands in everything" (v24). What wife could ever live up to that standard?

But if by God's grace we will pursue this ideal, we will find a beautiful version of the mutual submission that v21 requires of us. The man will sacrifice his wants and desires to put his wife's needs ahead of his own, and the wife will refuse to demand that her wants and desires be met and instead entrust herself to the husband she believes will love her as he loves himself. When both husband and wife lay their own wants and needs aside in this way, what you end up with is two people living for the other instead of two people living for themselves. And this powerfully illustrates the love Christ has for the church and the service the church offers back to Him.

So as you think about your marriage present, future or even past, consider how it might be used to serve God and His purposes. Consider how you might live to meet your spouse's needs. And make a pointed effort to lay aside your rights, your wants, your desires and seek instead the good of your spouse for the sake of Christ and His church.

For Those Who Have Been Trained by It

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Hebrews 12:11

Discipline. Chances are that when you read that word you think of spankings or timeouts, depending on how your parents punished you. But discipline isn't always about punishment. Self-discipline, for example, is about forcing yourself to do things that you would rather not do in order to better yourself. Sometimes our parents discipline us in this way as well. They ask us to do things that are meant to test and strengthen us. A father might teach his daughters a strong work ethic by asking them to do hard work. He isn't punishing them for doing something wrong, he is disciplining and training his daughters up to become a certain type of women. The hard work shapes their character.

This is the type of discipline presented in today's verse. It refers to trials that God sends into our lives in order to test, strengthen and shape us into the people He wants us to become. Building character like this is never fun, but it produces the right result for those who are trained by it. The result isn't automatic. You have to be trainable. In the original language the word for trainable is gymnazo. Not hard to figure out that it is connected with the idea of the gymnasium and exercise. The idea is that the person who is willing to endure the trial, who doesn't give up or refuse to submit to the training will benefit from it. These trials seem painful at the time but they produce the right result if we will be trained by them. Most of the time when I am really struggling I sense an emphatic lack of peace and yet this passage says that peace and righteousness are the end result of those who are trained by God's discipline. It makes us stronger, better able to hold onto our peace in the midst of a storm. And it produces the right character in us, i.e. righteousness. 

When we face a difficult trial it is normal and even appropriate for us to ask why. Why has this come into my life? Have I sinned? Do I need to repent or is this just something that in God's wisdom He has chosen to allow in my life? But too often we stall out at the why questions because we can't always answer them. So in the midst of whatever difficult trial you are facing right now don't just ask why. Ask, what am I supposed to learn from this? How can I be trained by it? How can this make me a better person? How can it shape me into the type of person who trusts God more, who has walked through the fire with Him and has learned more about His character? Remember, God always disciplines his children in order to draw us nearer to Him.