Why Should I Trust God? Why Should I Submit to His Lordship?

People have legitimate questions:

  • Don’t I really know what is best for me better than anyone?
  • Why would I yield control of my life to God?
  • How do I know I can even trust God?
  • What if God wants to hurt me?
  • Who is God?
  • It’s too hard to stop trusting myself and to trust God instead.

According to Scripture – we have two choices about who controls our lives:

1. Our sinful flesh – the result is always the same -> death on every level

2. God’s Spirit – the result is always the same -> life and peace on every level

(Galatians 5:13:25, Romans 8:9-14)

God never expects us to trust Him blindly without reason. He reveals Himself to us in nature and in the Bible so that we can get to know Him and so that we can see that He is completely good, trustworthy, and faithful. If you are struggling in your faith, I invite you to do a study of God’s attributes and who God is. The more clearly you see exactly who God is and the more clearly you see exactly who you are – the easier it is to realize that the wise thing to do is to trust God, not ourselves. The more you know God and how good He is, the more you want to know Him. 🙂

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3

The best way to learn to trust God and have faith in Him is to read about Who God is, study His attributes and His Word. I would highly suggest listening to Wayne Grudem’s podcasts Systematic Theology “The Attributes of God.” Or, watch David Platt’s Secret Church series “Who Is God?” Or, you may want to search John Piper’s site www.desiringgod.org for “attributes of God” or “character of God” or “who is God.” You may also have a section in the back of your Bible that outlines the nature of God.

When we are studying the attributes and character of God, it is important to keep in mind that He is ALL of these things ALL the time. We cannot separate out the qualities and character traits we like and ignore the ones we don’t like. We must accept and reverence God for who He really is and how He presents Himself to us in Scripture. We don’t get to change him – thankfully! We just get to worship, love, and obey Him.

He is:

HOW DOES MY SUBMITTING TO CHRIST APPLY TO MY BEING A GODLY WIFE?

It is the very foundation, my dear sisters!

If I cannot fully submit to Christ as my Lord and I cannot trust and reverence God, it will be impossible for me to honor, respect, and submit to my husband in the ways God commands me to as a believer in Christ. The only way for me to become the woman God desires for me to be is for me to know Him and to fully yield control of my life to Him in wholehearted love, trust, worship, and respect. (The same would also be true with our brothers in Christ, relating to their being godly husbands.)

The way I treat my husband (and all other people) is a tangible indicator of the way I treat God.

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40

God counts the way I treat Greg as if I am doing whatever I am doing for and to Him. If I truly love and honor God, I can do nothing but truly love and honor Greg and obey God’s commands for me as a woman and wife. This is ALL about my walk with Christ and His power working in me as I yield to Him. My ability to be a godly wife is a side effect of my strong, vibrant, healthy relationship with Christ Jesus as my Lord. My primary purpose is to love and please God. Only from this platform can I truly love and bless others. If I love God – I WILL obey Him (John 14:22-24) and I WILL love others with God’s 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 kind of love (1 John 4:7-21) . That is the inevitable fruit of my love for Christ and my faith in Him.

Once I am fully submitted and yielded to Christ as Lord of ALL in my life, then His Spirit has freedom in my life to take control. He empowers me to walk in obedience and holiness in ways I could never possibly live on my own in my own strength as I “abide in Him” the way a branch abides in the vine (John 15). He also casts out all of my fear by His perfect love (1 John 4:18) so that I trust His sovereignty to lead me through my imperfect husband and I rest peacefully in His arms. My trust, when I submit to and respect my husband, is ultimately not in my husband – but in Christ! That is the only way that I can have the gentle, peaceful, still, calm spirit that is so beautiful in God’s sight. My trust is in Christ Jesus, His love, His goodness, His power, His will, His glory, and His sovereignty. My trust is fully in Christ to lead me through my husband and to direct the circumstances of my life for His good purposes, for His ultimate glory, and for my best interests – to conform me more and more into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29-30).

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Here is a worship song that conveys an attitude of total surrender and joyful submission to Christ as Lord – enjoy! Best if you can sing it at the top of your lungs. 🙂