Wives, in the same way be submissive
to your husbands so that,
if any of them do not believe the word,
they may be won over without words
by the behavior of their wives, when they see
the purity and reverence of your lives.
1 Peter 3:1-2
(my emphasis)
A Word I received quite clearly... for the first time God directed me to Scripture... chapter and verse... a verse that DIRECTLY spoke to the prayer I had been crying out to Him...
The heart of the message... Change yourself... in order... to change your husband...
Not a message I was too happy to hear at the time... and here I am... still... learning... still... surrendering territory... in my heart... that I might be transformed... into that wife... submissive... glowing with... purity and reverence...
As God shone His light... on me... regarding the struggle that sent me running to the dark... He revealed the sin... that keeps me stuck...
...the wife must respect here husband.
Ephesians 5:33
(emphasis added)
With a sad repentant heart... fully exposed... I confess... I do not respect my husband... the way God wants me to... the way I am commanded to...
I have tried... in my own strength... and reasoning... to bring it about... but there is a hard place in my heart... and yesterday morning... I prayed...
Forgive me Lord for not respecting [my husband] as I should.
Teach me how to respect him...
And He promptly began to teach... first through the dictionary...
respect -- to consider worthy of high regard: esteem (to set a high value on: regard highly and prize accordingly); to refrain from interfering with; to have reference to: concern (to relate to: be about; to bear on; to have an influence on)
Then I was prompted to write...
R
E
S
P
E
C
T
... and wait for Him to reveal... the meaning... of each letter... in the word...*
The first came immediately...
Revere...
Back to the dictionary...
revere -- to show devoted deferential honor to: regard as worthy of great honor
... devoted... worthy of great honor... words I kept going back to... drilling them into my mind... and heart... My husband is worthy of great honor... and devotion...
Two reasons to revere have come to mind...
- My husband is created in the image of God...
- I chose him...
He is God's creation... and I was not forced to marry him... I chose him... he is my husband... reason enough to exercise reverence... and display devotion...
Up to this point... (less than 48 hrs into the teaching)... I have had some success in this first part of the lesson... learning to honor... and understanding... receiving... into my heart... the reasons to revere...
The second letter... came at virtually the same time as the first...
Engage...
Again... to Merriam-Webster...
engage -- to pledge oneself: promise; guarantee (an assurance for the fulfillment of a condition); to give attention to something: deal; to hold the attention of: engross
Isn't it interesting... the precursor to a marriage is... engagement...
Respect is forged... by pledging oneself... to give attention to another... to deal with them... in a way... that holds their attention...
I pledge... to engage... my husband... reverentially... a commitment the enemy does not want me to make...
This morning... in that half-awake... half-asleep... consciousness... a phrase ran through my head... Scripture... recognizing... that it began... with "S" I asked... Is this the S...?... and heard... Yes...
The phrase to share tomorrow... the next lesson in teaching... respect...
And after that... I will wait... hope-fully... in a faithful God... who will complete what He has begun... in me...
Father God... thank You for Your instruction... Your teaching... that transforms...
*Here is where it gets a little scary... posting this in a blog... here is faith... boldness at work... sharing a lesson that is... incomplete... with no clear timeline for when it will be...
No comments:
Post a Comment