Following Your Husband as He Follows God's Will
Written by Mrs. Jennifer W.

 

 

I will never forget the day almost ten years ago when I realized what it really meant to submit to my husband. We were on our way home from a trip to South Carlina. We had just spent a wonderful week as a family visiting the campus of Bob Jones University. I had only recently become acquainted with the school through the pastors of our small church back in Pennsylvania. It was at this church that we had been growing as Christians and getting involved in the ministry. We had only been saved for a few years at that point and were thrilled at everything we were learning from God's Word. There came a point, however, when my husband felt like God wanted him to do more. He began taking classes through a correspondence program and meeting with our two pastors about the possibility of training for full-time ministry. It still seemed a long way off to me. We were quite happy living in the same small town where we had both grown up and were raising our three daughters. In July of 1998, however, we decided to make that trip to Greenville to see what Bob Jones was all about. You can imagine our excitement over such a long trip. We had never been so far from home and we all felt like it was the "Wexler family big adventure.” We spent the week touring the campus, meeting with faculty, getting to know Greenville, and visiting a church that had been recommended to us. It was a lot to take in, but we had a wonderful time. We were headed back to Pennsylvania and were almost home when my husband looked at me and said, "You know we're going back, don't you?” I can honestly say that in my heart I did know that already. God was working in his life and I knew that we had no choice but to submit to His will for us.

The problem for me was that I had a father who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and I felt responsible for him. I also had all of my family living within a very short distance from me and really did not want to put ten hours between us all. This is where my dilemma began. I knew that if I put up enough resistance, I could wear my husband down and we would not have to leave. I also knew that I could use tears and emotions as a way to convince him that I could not possibly leave my family.

This takes me back to my opening statement. "I will never forget the day when I really learned what it meant to submit to my husband.” After weighing my options, I realized that I only had one whom I needed to show God that I entrusted with my life—my husband. It was finally settled for me and the only thing that remained was to watch God work out all of the details. Of course, He did that for us and it was not long before we were headed to Greenville with our three daughters and two dogs. Was it easy? No, it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. We were in Greenville only three months when I got a call that my father had passed away. Did I battle guilt over that? Yes, every day for a long time I wondered whether or not he might have made it if I had stayed to care for him. Did I worry about my family? Yes, all my girls had ever known was their grandmothers living down the street and the home that they had been born and raised in. There was so much for them to adjust to. Was I immediately happy in our new home? No, it took me at least a year to really feel like it was "home" and I hated having to get used to a new city, new grocery stores (a big deal for a homemaker) and home schooling my children. I spent many days wondering when things would get better for my family. My husband was enjoying his classes at Bob Jones and the girls were beginning to make friends at church, but I still felt like a "fish out of water."

Gradually, however, I spent less time each day missing my old life. I began to thrive in our new church and realized that Greenville had a lot to offer. It was not long before it truly became home and I was happier than I ever thought I could be. Fast forward to March 2007. Another tiny church in Pennsylvania contacted my husband about their need for a pastor. Once again, we load up our family to take a "survey trip.” Could this really be happening again? Does God really want me to leave it all behind and start over in another new place? The answer came to me in 2007 as it came to me in 1998. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands.” If this was God's will for him, then it must be God's will for me. If it was God's will for me, than He would give me the grace, once again, to happily follow my husband as he followed God's will.

We have been at our new church for six months now. Has it all been easy? No, this time I had to leave two of those three daughters in Greenville because they had grown up and are now students at Bob Jones themselves. However, would I exchange these experiences for anything in the world? No, God has used them in my life to mold me into what He wants me to be. Nothing can compare to being in the center of God's will.

The will of God for a wife is to follow her husband. This is where true happiness lies. Submission to my husband has freed me to be the woman that God wants me to be. Obedience brings blessing and I have experienced more of God's blessing than I deserve. It is my hope for you that as you wait on God's will for your future, you will be preparing your hearts now to be a follower of God's will as He calls you to follow your own husbands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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