The Posture of Submission: Her Guide to a Life of Surrender

By Melissa Cade Sikes

You may be single, separated, divorced, or widowed and think this topic has nothing to do with you. Think again. No matter your marital status, everyone is called to a life of submission. So ready yourself as you accept the twenty-one-day challenge to live a life of submission to God and experience the transforming power of Christ in your life. 

“Humility is the first step to submission. When our motives of impure ambitions and pride are the driving force, we can’t see others above ourselves. But when we put the needs of others above our own, the goal of humility can easily be accomplished.”

Melissa Sikes is a former award-winning newspaper journalist, teacher, and coach. She lives in North Carolina with her husband James and her two stepchildren.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 19, 2024
• ISBN: 9798889430179

Book preview

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The Posture of Submission

Her Guide to a Life of Surrender

Melissa Cade Sikes

ISBN 979-8-88943-016-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-017-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Melissa Cade Sikes

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

To my husband, James, thank you for your friendship, leadership, patience, unconditional love, and for encouraging me to be the woman God has created me to be. And for always taking me fishing.

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Humble Pie

I Surrender All

Stop Being Stubborn

Submission Is an Attitude

It's Not About You

God's Chain of Command

His Headship

Let Him Lead

Be a Good Thing

The Energizer Bunny

A Woman of Valor

Words Hurt

Kill Him with Kindness

The Best Thing in the World

Don't Say a Word

Drip! Drip!

Modest Apparel

Gentle and Quiet

Fear the Lord

Win Him

Pass It On

References

Notes and Reflections

About the Author

To my husband, James, thank you for your friendship, leadership, patience, unconditional love, and for encouraging me to be the woman God has created me to be. And for always taking me fishing.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank everyone who assisted or encouraged me to write this devotional book.

First and foremost, I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, without whom I am nothing and can do nothing.

I'm eternally grateful for all the women who have played a vital role in molding me into the woman I am today: Rosa Cade, Charlene Crawford, Diane Wood, and Diane Huff. Your wisdom, discipline, love, support, encouragement, and prayers helped shaped my life in unimaginable ways. I love you all to the moon and back.

I'd like to express my deepest thanks to my editor and spiritual mother, Denise Poldrack, who challenged me, encouraged me, prayed for and with me, and willingly took on the challenge of this project. There aren't enough words to tell you how much you mean to me. I definitely could not have accomplished this without you.

I would like to extend a very special thank you to my cousin, Ebony Tate (aka Little Sis), for all the years you listened to my made-up, fictional stories. You're the only one who knew my storytelling abilities would one day pay off. Thank you for believing in me.

I'd also like to express my gratitude to my Roto-Rooter Plumbing family, especially the ladies in the CSR department: Jennifer Barnhill (aka Boss Lady), Lauren Lineberry, Kendra Moore, Brittney Bigham, Haley Simmons, Autumn Matthews, Autumn Garris, and Jennifer Duncan. Thank you all for the countless hours you listened to me preach and teach my way through this book. I could not have accomplished this huge task without you.

Last, but certainly not least, I'd like to thank my amazing stepchildren, Nathaniel and Olyvia. Thank you for allowing God to use you to mold me into the mother he's called me to be. I love you both more than the words contained in this book.

Introduction

Honoring God has never been an issue for me. My grandmother taught me the importance of prayer and submission to God when I was a child. I was always instructed to follow his plan for my life, no matter what. We went to church on a regular basis. I can truly say that we were in church every time the church doors were open, and the church was about an hour away from where we lived. I learned a lot, and I'm still learning a lot of things from my grandmother.

Unfortunately, there is one thing she couldn't teach me: the importance of honoring and reverencing my future husband. Why? Her husband failed to be the man God created him to be. He spent most of his life chasing women instead of God, which left my grandmother to take care of everyone and everything else, including me. By the time I came along, she had raised nine children of her own. I watched her run a household and work two jobs, all while being Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa. I never heard her complain about the many responsibilities. She just did what she had to do to provide and take care of all of us.

I am truly grateful for everything she did for me, but being raised with no male authority in the home was a recipe for failure. It led me to believe men were a complication and would only hold me back. This was not verbally communicated to me, but it was a mindset I developed as a young lady while observing the men in our lives.

It wasn't until