Every Wednesday I pick up Martha Peace’s The Excellent Wife and start reading where I had left off the last Wednesday. My book marker had fallen out, so today I was flipping forward and backward trying to find my place when I read this:

You may never comprehend all the reasons why God does what He does, but you can trust that He knows better than you what you really need. Keep in mind that you will never be what God wants you to be until you place yourself under God’s plan by coming under the authority of your husband.

The Excellent Wife, 17

God’s authority is meant to protect us. He made us, He designed our role as wives. When we follow His plan, we will be protected from the consequences of trying to live by our own rules. That is why we have to be careful that we don’t hinge our obedience to God on anyone or anything.

So many wives have made up their minds to only start submitting to their husband as soon as he starts being the spiritual leader. But it is so foolish for us to put a hold on our own spiritual growth by refusing to obey God as far as it depends on us. The wise wife isn’t ignoring the reality that it is very difficult to submit to or love her husband, but she accepts God’s call on her and does what it takes to walk in His ways, not her own.

This quote was a good reminder to me to put myself under God’s plan without making excuses or conditions. So often I think I am justified in blaming my bad attitude on something someone said or skipping my quiet time because of a busy day or ascribing my angry response to lack of sleep. Even though external things can be an influence, they do not determine the internal choice that I must make of how to respond.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Romans 8:28-29

In the quote, Peace reminds us that we won’t always understand why God is doing something. Even though we may never comprehend what God is doing in our lives, as Christians, we can be confident that everything happening is working together to conform us more to the image of Christ. It isn’t our job to work everything out in our lives for good. Our job is putting ourselves under Him, obediently following His word.