“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission”--Hebrews 5:7
Sadly, just the word submission causes many individuals to turn and run, or to push back as much as humanly possible. Still, reverent submission as Jesus lived it on earth is godly and beautiful.
Jesus reverently submitted to His Father, yet many individuals get off track by thinking submission is about submitting to other people, when true submission is about reverencing God and submitting to Him, as Jesus modeled.
Still, the first thing many think of is wives submitting to husbands, as directed in Colossians 3:18, “Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
But the heart and depth of submission is in submitting to God, because godly submission is not just for wives, but for all believers in Jesus Christ, as Ephesians 5:21 explains, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Many of us do not consider our refusal to submit to one another and to God as sinful. Rather, we think of it more as our choice rather than God’s will, and think He is okay with whatever we decide to do. But that’s not true.
As Hebrews 5:7 reveals, reverent submission opens God’s ears to us, which is supported by John 9:31: “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does His will.”
Examples of Godly Submission
Whereas Jesus is our model of godly submission for all of us, both men and women, 1 Peter 3:5-6 describes how submission has worked in the lives of biblical women, encouraging us to take note of and follow their godly submissive examples.
“For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.”
As well, we don’t want to overlook and recognize how submission in wives gives God the route to softening and drawing their husbands’ hearts towards Him, as 1 Peter 3:1-4 explains:
“Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Submitting All Your Ways to God
As well, God calls all of us to submit all our ways to Him, as Proverbs 3:5-6 instructs us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Yet, most of us fear submitting, fearing we’ll be abused; fearing we’ll be seen as less important; fearing we’ll be unhappy; fearing we’ll lose opportunities; fearing what God says isn’t really true.
But God doesn’t call us to put our trust in men and women but to submit all our ways to Him, trusting in His leadership alone, above all others.
So we don’t have to avoid, resist, reject, or be afraid of submitting to Him, because even when others fail us, God will not.
When we choose to follow God’s will by reverently submitting to Him and following His leadership, we can completely and fully trust Him with our very lives and for the results that come when we submit to Him.
1 Peter 3:12 explains, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Let’s Pray:
Dear Father, soften our hearts to reverently submit all our ways to You, Lord, to follow Your will for our lives with our whole hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Tinnakorn Jorruang
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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Originally published Monday, 16 March 2026.
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