The Truth About Submission

"I love submission." Said no one ever.
I am learning something however that life without submission to God is a road that leads to nowhere.
If I desire my life to have purpose, meaning, and something that resembles more than just "barely getting by" then I must submit to His ultimate authority.
I like to know where I am headed. (daily speaking)
I like to be leading the charge so to speak. And yes, I like to be in control.
That was the power struggle we faced from the beginning. Eve wanted control. She wanted to be able to decide what tree she ate from, and the tempting reality of "knowing good and evil" felt like a step in the right direction to Eve.
I my friends, am no different.
I like to feel like I am the one who calling the shots. I decide when I go and when I stay, I decide who I help and who I avoid. I decide. It's my choice.
O the rebellion of my heart.
Something that lies deep inside of the need to be in control is pride. Fear also rests there.
Pride is predominant though because when I call the shots, and good results, I can take the glory. My will. My way. Thank me!
Not exactly the humble heart that God desires, or considers usable.
There is no pride in submission. Because submission at it's core says, "I don't know best." Submission says through no words at all that we do not know best, and we do not have what it takes to lead the charge and do it well. (with the best success for all people involved)
It's not just us we are needing to be concerned about. When we take matters into our own hands we affect others. We affect lives of people who are all around us. When we make bad choices because "we know best" it's affecting other people as well. Eve's choice affected Adam.
My choices affect my family.
If I refuse to submit to the Lord, I develop bad habits that affect my family. I am walking around in fear, which in turn models fear based thinking to my children.
If I refuse to submit my pride can be evident to others, and it can push others away from Christ. Neither of those are good things in terms of Kingdom speaking, or otherwise for that matter.
Last night as I was contemplating all that I am writing now, I made note of this:
God does have amazing plans, perfect plans for all man kind. But man will rarely surrender to that plan. Why? There are many reasons I suppose. One being, it's scary to not know. But that is where trust comes in.
But there is such arrogance in my needing to be in control. I call the shots. I make the deals. There is no submission in this way of thinking. There is no consideration for the Makers desires in this. It's all about me. And then, as I said above, when something goes well, (nothing happens without His permission) I take the glory.
God is sovereign friends. He does allow things to go well for us to bless us.
This is something I want you NOT to miss though. Listen in.

We do receive blessing from the Lord. We are called "blessed" because we trust or fear the Lord many times in Psalms. Tell me this: Is there self sufficiency in trust? Not when your trusting in the Lord. No. He asks me to lay aside me self-trust based thinking, and take up the trust that submissively follows the Lord because we know what about the Lord? HE is faithful. He is ALL powerful. He is completely sufficient in meeting ALL our needs. He conquers. He wins.
And yet, I think somehow I can do better than Him? I can pull one over on Him and control any given situation? Do I think I can manipulate God by my careful planning? Far be it from me my friends. But my actions do speak otherwise! I have tried to just this in many situations. And Lord Jesus, I repent!  Blessing comes when we trust Him because the life lived in complete faith in Jesus is a blessed life! Peace floods in and joy. Regardless of the outward circumstances. And this, is a blessing!

No works will last, or truly prosper in the Kingdom sense except for those that are done by the Spirit, for the Spirit, and IN the Spirit.
Life without the Spirit is really just a fake, cheap imitation of what life really can and should be.
My life should be so wrapped up in Christ you cannot even see me.
My days are His.
My times are His.
My words are His.
My thoughts are His.
My hopes and dreams rest submissively in His all sufficient ability.

I ought to be like Abraham, who offered His son to the Lord, not because the Lord needed it, because Abraham was supposed to obey. And Abraham did obey. He obeyed because He reasoned that God, in His all sufficiency could not only provide, but also raise the dead. (Hebrews 11:18,19) (Noting also that God never asks us to do difficult things without our ultimate good at hand. He is always working FOR us. Not against us.)

Is that how my life speaks to others? Is that how I feel my response is? I submit.
Reminding myself there is no pride in submitting. SO I can take no pride in the fact that I submit to the Lord, because the sheer act of submission says, "I have nothing to offer."
I bring nothing to the table but my sin.
God's grace covers all.
God's sufficiency works for me on my behalf.
I willingly accept this grace, and I humbly place myself under His control and reign because I want for myself, what He wants for me.
No pride or control in this.
It's all His. The first breath. The last breath. And everything in between.
Blessed are you who fear the Lord  because in your trust and fear you rest secure. Your present, your future, and your sins of old forgotten.
There can be no pride in what you did not do. I do nothing on my own. I can do nothing of value on my own. This is not self demoting, it's a complete and total recognition of my need for the ALL sufficiency of God. It's total acceptance of what my life ought to be with Christ.
Excitement ensues. I am excited now for what the Lord will do with me, for me and if I am so blessed, through me.
Who I was is gone. Who I am in Christ, by Christ, for Christ, through Christ is what matters.