God's Sovereignty

Ordinarily, I would prioritize my husband as the second thing to be thankful for in my marriage (marriage itself being the first).  However, I have already used him as one of my thankful things, so I will continue on.  I am thankful for God’s sovereignty, as its application in my marriage (and in all of life) has been a huge blessing for me.  Here is how it has blessed me in my marriage specifically.  

God ordained marriage and the respective roles of a man and a woman as defined in the Bible, namely, the woman as helper (Genesis 2:18,20-22) and the man as leader (Ephesians 5:23). God also stated in the Bible that the woman should submit to the man (Ephesians 5:22).  (For more on my definition of that dreaded word, see Weekly Impressions - Submission).  If God says in Romans 8:28 that He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God,” then He is sovereign (has power over) all things, just as that verse says.

My husband is a sinner (as am I).  So as my leader, he is bound to make some poor decisions.  However, if God is sovereign over all things - as He says He is in the verse above - then He is governing the outcome of the decisions my husband makes.  My calling as his wife, is simply to be obedient to God, which means to submit to, or to follow, my husband.

I love 1 Peter 2:23:  “...and while being reviled, He [Jesus] did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously[.]”  (Emphasis added.)  Whenever I am anxious about whether to follow a decision my husband has made, I come back to this verse.  Whether my husband is being loving or being a jerk, I am to submit to him, because in so doing, I am entrusting myself to (and obeying) God.  My perfect God, who is sovereign over all.  If anyone knows what He’s doing, it’s God.  So whether my husband really knows what he’s doing or not, God will always work things for the good of His children.

The measure by which I should determine whether or not to submit to my husband is found in whether or not, in submitting to my husband, I am obeying Christ. If my husband asks me to sin, then God would not have me obey him. Sometimes, I have a hard time distinguishing that line of what is truly sin or not. If it isn’t black-and-white, and I haven’t been able to come up with a satisfactory answer after holding it up to what the Bible says, then I am inclined to lean toward submission to my husband. That, at least, is clearly defined in the Bible.

So I am thankful for God’s sovereignty, that it enables me to leave anxiety in my marriage behind.  God is so good, and I am so glad that I - as a sinner - can rest in His grace and His unfailing love.