Corona Devo 166

Remember the old commercial that would say, "Membership has its privileges?"

I may catch a little (or A LOT) of flack for this, but the Lord continues to remind me that in marriage, Submission has its privileges.  

Ouch, I know that hurts some of you to read, but I mean it in the Biblical understanding: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. ~Ephesians 5:25, and when the husband takes care of the wife and protects her, and makes good decisions for her well-being, as he is directed by the Lord... then following those decisions makes (Biblical) sense and feels right.

Well...it should feel right.  But then why do I still struggle for control?  Even though my husband lives out Godly principals for me and our family, it is somehow still difficult for me to allow him to lead sometimes.  And so, the Lord lovingly reminds me of His plan for marriage and for me in Scripture today.  I pray that you can glean some wisdom from it as well.   

The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.  3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. 5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”  “All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”  ~Genesis 18:1-5

Abraham was a man who followed after God.  If you know even a little about the Bible, you have probably heard of him.  If you have a husband who follows after the Lord, they are led by Him.  We have to trust that, and go with it when the time comes for obedience.  When the spirit of God is in us, He leads us, sometimes into action, and sometimes into obedience.

Abraham was led to notice 3 men near his tent.  But the verses give us a clue...they were not just 3 men...it was God in the form of 3 men: The Lord appeared again to Abraham...Genesis 18:1.  How Abraham knew, I cannot fully explain, except that He was a Godly man, and thus, the Lord led him into these actions.  Abraham's service to the 3 men was immediate, and even though it was "the hottest part of the day"...Abraham "ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground."

When was the last time we sprinted to meet anyone?  Something in Abraham allowed him to sense the importance of these visitors, and he reacted.  Sometimes I sense the Lord mobilizing me into action, and there are also times when God will motivate our husbands.  We may not understand the leading, but we should trust that if our husband is running toward someone/something, then there is importance to it.  We have to trust their leadings.

Abraham's "leading" told him to take good care of these men, and he did: offering them shade, rest, water and food.  I felt another level of teaching hit me when I saw how Sarah, Abraham's wife obeyed him when he asked her to help take care of the guests:

6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.  ~Genesis 18:6-8

I was so convicted when I read verse 6.  

Sarah did not list out to Abraham the other things that she was in the middle of doing and would need to complete before doing what he asked (as I sometimes do to my husband).  She did not argue their current financial status or need and question him when he asked her to use the "best flour", and she did not complain to him that they might run out of flour if she used three large measures.  

Plain and simple: Sarah obeyed her husband.  I know this isn't a popular understanding of working marriages today, but the struggle for control in decisions is also why most marriages are not working today.  

I believe God was giving me (and you) Sarah's example to remind us of how a good and Godly marriage should work (in contrast to how we sometimes try and make it work to suit us and our needs).    

Abraham was walking with the Lord.  He was in the middle of something, and Sarah did not get in his way.  That meant that she also did not get in God's way.  Sarah was a blessing to her husband by not being an obstacle to him, and in effect, Abraham could continue serving God as he was being led, and in the end--it blessed her.  

There are situations each day where our husbands are moving in a direction that we may not understand.  We can question, argue and worry ourselves into being a barrier, or we can be his helper, as God intended.  God will work it out for both of us in the end.  If our husbands are doing their part in following God, and we are doing ours, then when we are asked to bake some bread using a large amount of our best flour for strangers, then we can go with it in comfortable submission.  We can rest in the truth that as our protectors, our husbands are making Godly decisions, and we will be covered (and blessed) by those decisions.   

9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.  “She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.  10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”  ~Genesis 18:9-10

If you know anything about Abraham's wife, Sarah, she was 99 years old, and had longed for a child her entire life.  These 3 "strangers" brought news to her husband that she would now have the blessing of bearing Abraham a son.  

I am not saying that because Sarah baked some bread that she was granted a desire of her heart.  But I am harvesting some Biblical truth from the fields of this story in that Sarah was fulfilling her role, in loving and serving her God and her husband.  Abraham was doing the same.  And the Lord blessed the obedience of their roles to each other and Him.   

May it be so in our marriages as well.  

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com