Obedience and Submission

Obedience: Ruth 3:5-6 (NIV) “‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.” 

Obedience is what God wants from us the most. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NKJV) “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.” John 14:15 (NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” 

God needs His time with us as women, and we need time with Him too. Praying is part of obedience to God, it is the intimate time we have with Him. For those women who didn’t either have their fathers in their lives or any good example of a male figure, having a relationship with God is on a different level. God is the father we never had, the husband we desire or are praying for, the protector we always needed and always will. His peace, love, protection, guidance, leadership, providing, hearing and heeding to our needs as women, we need that! The only way to experience this is by being obedient to God. God’s love is unconditional, but He still requires us to be obedient. And He deserves it. 

Experiencing God’s love as a woman prepares us to know when a potential husband is God sent, when other people are from God, and most of all to teach us how to show God’s love to other people. 

Submission: Ruth 3:14-15 (NIV) “So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, ‘No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.’ He also said, ‘Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.’ When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.” 

It has been well taught that a wife should submit to her husband, dating back to Adam and Eve. In today’s society it has become frowned upon for a woman to submit, the independence of a woman, outside of a man, is more glorified. But, what about a woman’s submission to God? Eve was also instructed to not eat from the tree of knowledge as well as Adam. She not only did not submit to God’s will, she did caused the downfall of Adam as well, Genesis 3:12 (NKJV) “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.'” 

As women, we truly have the power to uplift and bring down not only our husbands but our family and household as a whole. A woman who is submissive to God is submissive to every other purpose God has for her. Her role as a woman, a wife, a mother, a woman in ministry, a friend, a sister, a daughter, an entrepreneur, and the list could go on. Submission to God from a woman is a sign of gentleness, trust, vulnerability, love, respect, and honor. Ruth 3:10-11 (NIV) “‘The Lord bless you, my daughter,’ he replied. ‘This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.” 

Ruth submitted to the Will of God that was told to her by Naomi of what to do with Boaz in order for Boaz to know Ruth desired him, although Boaz noticed her before there encounter that evening. What if Ruth did not follow Naomi’s instructions? What if Ruth did not submit to God’s will and went after a younger rich man? How better could your life be as a woman if you submitted to God’s will for your life? 

God’s will comes with protection, love, grace, mercy, trust, direction, peace, respect, comfort, and provision. The way we learn to submit to God as women, is how God teaches us to submit to our husband’s. But, in us submitting to God as women, we are learning to trust, depend, and go to God first about everything and before anyone. Ruth is an excellent example of a woman in the Bible submitting to God’s will. The wisdom of Naomi that was given to her by God to instruct Ruth on what to do to gain the attention of Boaz and to obtain work and food, is an excellent example to live by as women. Ruth did not fight Naomi, she did not fight Boaz, she knew the God given purpose she had in this role as Naomi’s daughter-in-law and future wife of Boaz. Boaz respected and adored Ruth, he was able to see the gentle nature of Ruth through her actions.