GPS to a Joyful Marriage

In Genesis 3 we see where God lays out the roles for both sexes. Men -Vs. 17-19 “ Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food.”    God’s judgment on men – they’ll have to work and work to feed their families.  They will also struggle in not allowing their work to become their priority in life. Women -Vs. 16 “ In pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.”   God’s judgment on women - we see that this will be an area we struggle with all our lives.  We devote our time to our children.  Our desire is for our husband, but God has now given him work that will take up a lot of his time, and he will rule over us.  Not only do we yearn for more time with our spouse, but we also have...

Submission from the wife does not give the husband freedom to dictate and make all the rules. In a healthy marriage, couples will discuss everything, together. A wise man will value the suggestions and opinions of his Godly wife and not hesitate to use them. I can count on my husband for sound advise and judgment. I know we will not make a move, regardless of who’s idea it was, unless it has been supported by God. Being submissive to a Godly husband means that you know God will be involved in any decision making. Submissiveness does not mean the husband rules the wife with an iron fist, barking out orders that please his SELF. Husbands need to give up SELF and submit to God’s will in order for a wife to willingly follow his lead. Someone once asked Rick, "I'm confused about being the leader of the house. How can I be the boss without being bossy?" Jesus was a servant leader. He didn't "boss" people around. He led by example. He put the needs of other...

Okay, back to submission (you may have hoped I’d avoid it). No wonder ‘submit’ is a four-letter word to women in our society. There is no set rule for families anymore. We don’t know how to behave or what we’re supposed to do. With all the divorce, there aren’t many solid role models for marriage in our lives. Sadly, as with most other aspects of our society, we’ve turned away from God and have tried to do everything by our SELVES. I believe the idea of submission only comes naturally in Godly relationships. If you’re not following God, you’re following SELF (with encouragement from the devil of course.) Submission and SELF cannot co-exist. Submission is giving up SELF as we are called to do in our relationship with God and our relationship with our spouse. Submissive wives may still be found in secular marriages. They are usually influenced by the relationship of their parents or their own personality. It would be a much more difficult path to follow without God. A Christian wif...