February 22, 2022

Shawn Stoever
“Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:22

I am sure there was a time early in our marriage when I expected my wife to live out this verse on a daily basis…and I am sure there were times when I was disappointed. I also know as a marriage counselor that I have heard this verse misused on so many occasions – often to the detriment of the marriage and sometimes to the abuse of a wife. Multiple times I have had husbands asking me to counsel their wives to submit to their leadership – from forcing them to move across the country to making them have sexual intimacy with them.

I have learned in my own marriage and through counseling so many others that a woman who is authentically and fully loved will gladly submit to Godly leadership. It is also true that a woman has to search her own heart to make sure there is not a spirit of rebellion or fear of losing control that is keeping her from living out this verse.

Is there anything that keeps you from submitting to the different types of Godly leadership in your life? How can you begin to do so, “as you do to the Lord?”