Obedience + Submission = Wife Curse Words

"Oh no, she didn't?!" I can just hear that little voice in your mind right now. You know, the one that talks back to your husband even when your mouth stays shut. Or the one that criticizes your pastor after he preaches something you didn't like. Ouch, feel that? I did. It's a pretty big nerve too, I might add.

If you couldn't tell already, I'm not here to feed you fluff. I've struggled {am struggling} with these words daily. So why do I want to act like I got it all together? I don't and probably never will. However, today I had a turning point. I can't explain how, it was a spiritual shift. My focus had been on the wrong target for so long, that the false became truth and vise versa.

The truth is this: it's not about me. Or you. Sorry. Actually, no I'm not. It's about Jesus. It's about others. It's about His will and His kingdom. I'm not saying we are insignificant. I'm talking about order. And the Lord Jesus Christ is definitely all about order...{1 Corinthians 14:40}

These words are in place for a reason. For correction but mainly for protection. And I don't just mean from that red guy with the horns. Sad how you knew who I meant based on the world's image of him. I can bet he looks nothing like that. The point is, there is a battle. Good vs evil. Man vs nature. Men vs women. Uh, wait, that last one doesn't seem biblical. And yet we somehow think it is.

I'm not going to talk about the history of women's rights, equality, the liberation movement or anything like that. I'm going to talk Bible talk. It seems to me that is where understanding and knowledge {two very different things} make the best marriage. Oh, did I say marriage? Ha, we'll get to that...

Obedience and submission are very similar. To obey an order or a rule, you must submit. In order to submit, you must obey. They go hand in hand like candy and sunshine. Only we don't feel as warm inside. Or outside. Or anywhere, really. Why is that? Have we been programmed so much by society's definition of these words, that now as a Christian wife we seem to allow that definition to trump the Word of the Almighty? To be obedient, we must be submissive by complying with orders. This usually means denying how we feel and what we want. I mean, who wants to do that?!

Soldiers. Soldiers are obedient. Soldiers submit themselves everyday, doing things they don't want to do, fighting fights that aren't even theirs, never knowing more than their leaders. They are only told specific details attached to the job given. They must trust in their leader. Trust that they know what they are doing. Trust that they are plugged into the overseer of the entire operation.

Why? Their very lives depend on it. An order is given and they don't have time for questions. It's time for action because there is a battle and one hesitation can mean life or death. If they wait, it could be the last thing they ever do. If they rebel and disobey the orders, not only can they get hurt or worse, but the ones around them are in danger as well. Side note about orders: life revolves around them. Orders don't have to be looked at as negative. Orders bring, well, order.

As Christian wives, we are soldiers of the home. I'm not trying to feed you any 1950's tv commercial slogan.
Check out Titus 2:5 KJV:
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

A few months ago I read a book called Pursuit of Proverbs 31 by Amy Bayliss. My brain has been spinning since then. When you read her words, you can't help but feel like they aren't really her words. She allowed the Holy Spirit to pen these truths:

"All are equal but one takes on more responsibility than the rest."

"If your country were being invaded by terrorists and a soldier knocked on your door and said, "Follow me" you wouldn't hesitate to go. You have a reverent fear and awe of those serving your country and know that they have your best interests in mind. He is reporting to his commanding officer who is ultimately  reporting to the highest of authority in your country. You trust those sent to protect you by this higher authority. God placed your husband there to protect you and keep your best interest in mind. He is your soldier. He is reporting to the highest of authority. You should have reverent fear and awe of him.

When you submit to your husband you are submitting to Christ. This submission is for your protection. It is not to strip you of who you are or your full potential. That is a lie from the pit of Hell."

Whoa, right? I urge you to get this book if you have not already, right here on Amazon. This isn't a paid sponsored post. I'm not getting paid to talk about this topic or her book. It has truly changed my life and I can say my marriage is better because I am better. There is still so much I am working on but I find peace knowing I'm breaking those lies; the mindsets that have taken root in my heart and are poisoning my soul. Because, honestly ladies...when the wife is dying, the entire house dies.

We are both soldiers, fighting in the same battle. There is a Divine order given that we both must follow. Just because you have someone leading you, doesn't mean you are not important. Having "reverent fear" is not being scared or terrified. It's having a deep respect for someone that you don't want to go against them or displease them. Soldiers need to remember who their battling. It should never be their fellow soldiers.

Here are some scriptures that I urge you to pray over and study on your own. Remember: don't make decisions by how you feel or what you see. Go by what you learn and what you know. That's what all soldiers do. If every soldier went by feelings, we'd have to surrender because no one would be on the battlefield.

It takes more strength to follow, obey and submit then it does to disobey and run away.

{The Lord}
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

 {Marriage}
"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Ephesians 5:22

{Leadership/Pastor/Elder}
"Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. "Hebrews 13:17

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

A Prayer & A Promise

Lately, things around the Pulford household have been, well, let's just say gloomy.

I don't normally like spilling the contents of our personal struggles here on the blog world, usually it's just me complaining and whining like a good lil' Christian about my own side of the story but today I feel I need to be transparent with you guys. Is that okay? Good 'cuz you don't really have a choice, it's my blog haha {seriously though}

Financially, we are sinking. FAST!
My unemployment, which was originally suppose to last until Dec of this year, got prematurely cut off by the state. Lame sauce. There goes about $800 a month down the tubes...not to mention bills piling up the wazoo and I've been stretching our groceries like Gumby. My husband and I are doing what we can with whatever resources we have, but it's not enough...not even a little! Now I'm not saying this to gain pity or to make ya'll feel bad for us. I'm sharing because I know we are not the only ones going through a storm.

The thing is, I was praying to the Lord and it went something like this:
"Lord Jesus, I know You are our Provider and I trust that You will deliver us!"
Not bad, right? Course not...however, that prayer just didn't sit right...then during my bible reading/prayer time, God placed a quote on my heart. One I haven't heard in a LONG time but can remember it being so profound. {If you don't know anything about me, know that I love quotes, collecting quotes, sharing quotes etc etc. It makes my heart happy.}

Here is what the quote states. Now I have NO idea who said it or where it came from, so I apologize I cannot give credit where it's due, but here it is:

"IF GOD BRINGS YOU TO IT, HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH IT!!"

WHOA, RIGHT?!

God was telling me that sometimes He doesn't deliver us from our battles, not because He can't but because there is a lesson that needs to be learned by going through it. If He did deliver us, the lesson would be lost. It's not saying that He isn't going to be there! It's not saying that God is going to abandon us to fend for ourselves like Survivor. It is a promise that we serve a God that is ALWAYS bigger than our battles, and if we come up against a Goliath-sized problem, He is able to bring us THROUGH the problem, rather than over it or around it!! What an amazing promise!!

So today, as I sit here at 2am on my dim laptop thinking about our life and the current circumstances, I feel a great peace in my soul. The dishes are dirty in the sink. The floor is out of control. Time is flying by faster than Marty from Back to the Future. However, God is STILL for me...He is still for us!!

So let me encourage you, don't pray for deliverance, that may not be God's plan, but pray to be kept, anchored in Jesus, to that Rock of Salvation. For when the storm blows, the boat may rock, but the anchor keeps still!!!!!!

"For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil"

Hebrew 6:16-19 / KJV

Sunday Devotion: A Spiritual Battlefield

"That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

1 Corinthians 2:5

Time and time again, we find ourselves in the midst of tribulation. We are sometimes just happily walking along, when BAM!, a situation or trial slaps us right in the dome. It's funny isn't it?

Having a daily walk with God requires us to take responsibility for our thoughts and actions. We can easily get sidetracked by life and when these tribulations come, we end up being totally unprepared...or worse...we equip the wrong armour.

In His Word, God showed me some things. As a Christian, we have new life and therefore should have new weapons. These should always be equipped BEFORE the battle. Sometimes we mess up and are too in tune with our humanity, or our flesh, and try to use carnal weapons.

By battle, I mean anything you come up against, such as music influences, fitting in with friends, relationships at work or school. Every day we have to be prepared to protect our hearts and minds.

II Corinthians 10:3-6 reveals so much about why:

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."

If we want to be obedient to Jesus, we must equip the weapons of the spirit and not of the flesh! Without the right weapons, strongholds don't get pulled down, they actually get built higher! Without the right weapons, imaginations that are not healthy and not right will not be cast down, but exalted!

If we fight with anger and rage instead of peace and love, before we know it, we are eating a mouthful of dirt. There is no victory using weapons of the flesh, however, the weapons of the spirit are always victorious because they are from the Almighty!

Today, think about the battle that you are in and ask God to reveal to you which weapons you have equipped. Ask Him to show you how to use the spiritual weapons. After all, the battlefield doesn't take place on this earth...it's a spiritual war. We can't win with carnal weapons! Equip yourself today and proclaim victory in the spirit!

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."

Ephesians 6:11-18