Dear Mothers,
This morning I was reading in my Bible about the spies who were faithful and the ones who were fearful. I laughed out loud when the Lord spoke to my heart. "Connie, you go right up to a GIANT and ask him if it is OK if you enter his land. And he looks about 5 feet down at you and says a big NOOO and you believe him." Boy, the Holy Spirit convicted me of my sins of unbelief this morning. Ya know the devil just wants to keep us mothers in a tither over our families.
I know once the Lord told me I would have three more children after I had the first three. I went straight to Jim who was no more saved then a rabbit and I said, "The Lord told me that we would have three more children." Of course, Jim, not being saved, said in essence, "The hell we will." Well, then I cried my head off because I said I was in submission to my husband and he said I could only have three children. Well, ya dumb cluck, Connie -- your husband was the giant in the land, as he wasn't saved. So, anyway, after Jim got saved, my faith was kinda weak. I didn't even want to have three more children by then, as I was just happy to come out with my hat on. And Jim asked me to have another baby. Long story short, we had three more children. The Lord wanted to give me a double blessing. Jim was not with me for the birth of the first three children, so with the last three he was with me.
And ya know that land of milk and honey is flowing with blessings. But we must be wise to enter it. Some of you dear wives and mothers need to understand that your husbands may be the priest of the home but he may be like the devil himself. Well, that's OK. No problem, the Lord will change him. You have to have faith and boldly enter your Promised Land.
Yes, you submit to your husband but you have to use your own head, too. There is a fine line there. But being a submissive wife doesn't mean that you turn your spirit off and coast through life following your husband. If your husband is wrong on an issue, then pray against it. Don't stand up and tell the giant that you think his idea stinks. And don't run out on your husband. No, God has showed you the promised land that flows with milk and honey. But you won't get to the Promised Land by standing around gabbing with unbelievers. And if your husband isn't walking in faith, then don't listen to him. I mean, no, don't talk back to him. And when he talks his unbelief, just nod and smile. But no man has a right to your mind or your life with God.
Don't argue with your husband. Can't ya just see Esther going into her husband the King and tellin' him how the heck it was gonna be? Sarah didn't turn around and cut loose on Abraham when he sold her into a harem. But she prayed like a hound dog and the king couldn't touch her. Thank God! And Abe was a man of faith but he made mistakes, huh? Well, I will say he did! And ya know this was a test for Sarah, too. She could have lived well for the rest of her life in a palace. She could say, "Well, I am being in submission as my husband gave me to the King." But she had a heart for God and she prayed her way back to her husband who lived in a tent. But, see, Sarah was a woman of God, called and anointed of the Lord. She was not a lady preacher but she learned in silence and submission. She refused to take spiritual authority over a man. But she clung to God and He heard her cries and rescued her.
When you have an impossible husband, rejoice! Because you have a chance to take a spiritual journey to the Promised Land. Rejoice and lift up your head. Yes, there are giants in the land but don't be afraid of them. Take on courage. Gird your loins with truth. Take His marriage covenant into the Promised Land. He will guard His own covenant. He will guard you as you hold His covenant to your heart.
I pray for nothing as much as I pray for courage. Come on, Mothers and Wives, let's do it. The GIANTS aren't that BIG!
And some of you wives make gods of your husbands. And good grief! Yes, you love your husband. I love Jim in heaven and wouldn't even think of another man. But he made a lousy god. Some mornings, before he knew the Lord, he would wake up ready to tear the house down for no reason. I thought it was all my fault and that I must have tossed and turned all night and kept him up. And that I made him wake up like a black bear with rabies. It had to be my fault, right? Then I would cry and cry and try to lay more still at night. And God knows I never lay still at night. But Jim had his own set of demons and they had nothing to do with if I laid still at night or not. I think I do my deepest prayin' at night and I was always hell to sleep with. May God forgive me! But good night, ladies, if you just stand there like a garbage truck, someone will throw garbage at ya.
Don't receive guilt and condemnation for everything that goes wrong in your house. You are the Queen of the Home! You have a place of honor like Mz. Violet describes in her precious writings. I wish I was more like Mz Violet! But early on I was married to the Tasmanian Devil so that makes my walk a bit more -- well, different? But, no, ladies, I rarely spoke up to Jim -- I just prayed for him and let the tail go with the hide. I mean the Lord isn't blind and He sees what is going on in the home. It's up to the Holy Spirit to make a man good and it is up to us to make them happy.
And that time Jim invited a murderer home for lunch? Well, I could have had a fit over that. But ya know even a murderer needs a friend and needs to eat lunch. Jim told me he was coming but told me he was in prison for writing bad checks. Jim didn't want to scare me to death. But as soon as I had gotten home from the store and walked in the door, the first thing this guy said to me was, "The governor gave me a pardon but I really did murder this guy in a hold up." I went straight for the blood of Jesus. I said, "The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin." Later I said to Jim, "I thought this guy just wrote bad checks. Turns out he is a murderer." Jim says, "Oh, he ain't gonna murder anyone." Well, this guy went back to prison inside of a year. Boy, was I glad! He was one scary guy. At first he just told me he murdered someone but in the end, he was getting really bold and telling anyone who would listen. Talk about giants in the land!
But our lives as Christian wives take us down many paths and we must be brave to walk with our husbands. We must walk quietly with them with an attitude of reverence. They are as Jesus in our lives. We must take the lower seat and bow to the door of meek and quietness.
We need to always pray for our husbands. They aren't perfect and neither are we. I mean Jim never brought any kind of beer, etc. in the house. Even when he did drink, he never brought it home. But ya know if he had drank, I couldn't have said anything about it. I wouldn't have. Ya know? I mean it is his house. But I sure would have prayed against it.
And I mean, like Esther, the Lord does sometimes give you a window of opportunity to voice your opinion. But I tried to wait for Jim to ask me my opinion. As you get a good track record with your husband, he will eventually ask your opinion. He will even value it above all others. In the end, this is how it was with Jim and me. He would dig in my soul for wisdom. I was so used to not giving my opinion that Jim would have to almost beg it out of me. But we aren't our husband's Mama. And if ya want a big two-year-old when he gets old, then baby him all of your married life. Never let him have an opinion or make a decision. Some men will just go nuts and make a dumb decision, as they know Mama will run in there and fix it. But let them make a dumb decision, then let 'em pay for it and they will knock it off. No one is perfect and it takes a while for husband and wife to learn our places.
Promised Land
So, dear Mothers, let's not insult the Lord by not believing Him. Let's have faith and walk into our Land that flows with milk and honey. The Promises of God are true. We can trust in Him. Let's make Him proud of us, His daughters. Let's be Sarah's daughters as we are not afraid with any amazement. Let's be beacons of light. Trail blazers who are not afraid of the Giants in the Land.
Yes, we are as small as grasshoppers but we have the Lord God who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He will walk before us. He needs for us to trust and obey. He is looking all over the earth to find women who will have faith in Him. Without faith, we won't enter His land of promise. Let's come away from the fearful women around us and walk with women of faith. Sarah's daughters who won't be taken in by this world -- no matter what.
Love,
Connie
