"...Let Her Be Veiled."
Chapter 8
Testimonies of Sisters
That Truth Prevail in our Lives
Recently, my sister, who was having trouble with her teenager, came to visit us. The problem was so extensive it had actually become life threatening.
She was quite surprised to see my sister, Elizabeth, and I wearing the head veiling. We shared with her how and why we had come to that decision. As I shared with her, I related how I had been quite angry with the idea of wearing a head veiling, and had been very defensive of my position, but had finally asked the Lord to show me what He wanted regarding 1 Corinthians 11.
The Lord helped me to recall a teaching I had heard concerning the difference between men and women—that women are always seeking security, and so naturally move into a leading position in order to feel more secure, even though that doesn't really make them feel secure either. Men, on the other hand, are visual and are therefore more vulnerable to the physical manipulation and seduction of women.
I could then understand why the majority of men today are either domineering and tyrannical (which is not of God, but satanic), or spineless and controlled, which is also not God's plan for men. The problem is overwhelming in scope! I could see why so many churches and the world were in the mess they are in. The truth can be staring us in the face but we are so blind to it.
I could also then understand that if women would step down and allow men to take the lead with gentle strength, which is Godly, then things would come under God's control through a properly established headship. It also seemed that this drive in women is so strong that we need a constant reminder—so the Lord gave us the head veiling. As I put it on, I asked the Lord to do a work in my heart daily. I can see that He is doing it, but I think I have a long way to go.
I was so blest to see at the church where we had learned these truths and had begun to fellowship that the men were taking the spiritual lead and baring their hearts, which is not natural for them to do, and the women were stepping down not taking the spiritual lead, which is not natural for them, as it is easier for them to be leaders and to bare their hearts. It is clear that God wants what is natural in us to be put to death so we can truly come under His control and authority.
Well, to make a long story short, my sister went home and told her husband (who was at his wit's end) that she would submit to his decision regarding their son. He was overwhelmed and said at last he felt he had a real wife, a helper at his side. This change totally transformed their marriage. She was overjoyed as she related all the wonders this change of attitude did for them!
I praise God for this, and I also thank precious brothers and sisters for being such a beautiful example of God's truth. Bless each one of you who are faithful in this!
Never!
"I'll never wear one of those things!", were the words from my mouth years ago to some Mennonite friends. "Where does it say that in the Bible?" They told me where.... My prayer became "Oh Lord, why me! You convict my heart if it's true and I'll obey."
They were only words. But in time, the need for obedience was to follow, and that's where it got very difficult. Every fleshly argument prevailed. My husband laughed at each one and said, "Why don't you stop fighting and just obey!" It was not the head veiling itself that was my stumbling block, but all the things it represented—dying to the flesh, and to the desire to be accepted; "standing out"; being judged for religious bondage, for real submission to my husband, and in spotlighting different areas that weren't submitted—ouch!
I had to ask the Lord to deal with and cleanse my rebellious heart and to help me simply obey Him, despite all the circumstances, and the emotions and feelings that were so intense. He gave me 1 Peter over and over again through my struggles.
Yet it was so very simple and peaceful once I put it on physically and spiritually! And following my obedience God has blessed to reveal much more fully the deeper meanings of His own covering over me personally and through my husband. Instead of "religious bondage" it has meant spiritual freedom, for God so blesses a simple obedience to His Word. In such obedience He gives us a glimpse into some of the mysteries and ways in which He covers His faithful children from both the enemy and ourselves. And I praise God for that. Amen!
Ugly Self Covered
I'd like to share a little on what the woman's head veiling means to me. I know that for most of my life (and that was until I was almost thirty years old) the only understanding I had of the covering was that a woman must have her head covered when she prays or reads God's Word. I used to think God wouldn't hear me if I wasn't wearing it.
I praise God that my shallow understanding has deepened, but wish that it had happened a lot sooner. That it didn't was partly due to a lack of solid teaching on the subject and partly due to my own lack of interest and ability to study God's Word deeply. His Word cannot be understood rightly by just a casual reading—without the Holy Spirit within to reveal it to us personally, or through God's ministers, it does not become living to us.
"For man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man." (1 Cor. 11:7). This verse shows us God's order in human relations. Since God is the Creator, the Almighty and Supreme, and worthy of all the glory and honor that we as His creatures can give Him, we should be uncovering or exposing His glory and worthiness. Man represents Him in human form as His image, and so his head is to remain uncovered.
Just as man represents God, so woman represents man in general. We are to be vessels through which the glory of God can shine. We cannot keep any glory and honor for ourselves, as that is the essence of pride. Humans cannot handle glory in a right way—what righteousness and goodness we do have is only as filthy rags in comparison to the divine righteousness in God and our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus our glory or goodness must be covered, and the woman represents this through the wearing of the head veiling. She also represents to her husband the submission she seeks to have towards God.
Therefore, the meaning of wearing a veiling has taken on a new depth and thrill to me. As I wear it, I express the desire to be totally emptied of self and sin—to be only a clean vessel that can let the glory of Christ shine through. It testifies that I commit every aspect and detail of my life to Him in true submission. As the Lord reveals our own imperfections to us, we can be deeply encouraged by seeing Jesus' perfection and that with Him in us we can have the victory.
"Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and looking forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect (mature) have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you." (Ph.3:12-15 NASB).
It is with joy that I wear the sign of having my own glory covered. How I despise it when ugly self even tries to lift its head again.
May Jesus be glorified!
The Power of the Covered Head
I would like to share a testimony concerning the power of the veiling as it is worn in obedience to and for the glory of God.
As a church, we had been working with a young teenage girl who had been attending our services and visiting in our homes for several months. She had come from a broken home, had been abused as a child, and was deeply involved in rock music. She had also had a nervous breakdown a few years before. Although she made partial commitments and seemed open to the truth of God's Word, there seemed to be a hopelessness about it all. I often wondered if she had the mentality to understand what Jesus had done for her. When she would spend the night with our daughter, her conversation was erratic and foolish, and I often had a sense of uneasiness in leaving them alone together. Our daughter had the same feeling, but we prayed for God's protection over us and rested in Him, knowing that He loved her too.
One weekend we were all gathered together for a time of special meetings. She responded at one of the invitations and her repentance was undoubtedly genuine. There was a brokenness in her that we had never seen before. Her childlike joy was a blessing to all of us, and we praised God for His power to bring her to true repentance and conversion.
Later, throughout the following day she was asked about wearing the head veiling—would she want to yield herself in this way to God's authority over her life, and have the protection of the angels over her? She was full of doubts and fears at the very suggestion, so we didn't press the issue.
But the turmoil within her continued. One moment she wanted to, and the next moment she didn't. Somehow she couldn't seem to lay the thought aside. Finally, on her own, she asked for a veiling, and when one of the sisters was putting it on her she began to cry. She cried so hard they came to ask the rest of us sisters what to do.
I asked her, "Don't you want to wear it?" She insisted that she did, so I asked her, "Then why are you crying?" She didn't know why—only that she felt so frightened. We asked her if we should take it off, and she said "No", and then "Yes", and then she didn't know. We decided to pray for her, and as we did we asked the Lord to give her a peace and even a joy about this—like the joy she had when she first realized her sins were forgiven. But her crying continued and her sobs became more violent. We were perplexed.
Finally we decided to take the veiling off, thinking perhaps that the trauma of her conversion made this too much for her to handle at this time. We explained to her why we were taking it off and told her to forget about it at this point and just concentrate on Jesus and what he has done for her. Her violent crying stopped, but she was not at all happy; in fact, she looked simply miserable.
After talking to her for awhile, I gave her a hug. She began to cry again, and clung to me almost frantically. I didn't know what to do. I said to her bluntly, "You will just have to tell Satan to leave you alone in Jesus' name!", not knowing why I said it, or that I was going to. She took me literally and said it out loud. Then she began to scream it out with such violence that some of the sisters went after the brothers to help us.
While everyone gathered in prayer, she was delivered that evening from Satan's control. Her joy was so contagious and so complete, we couldn't help but rejoice with her. She was a different person. And before we had scarcely adjusted to this new young woman, she asked for the veiling again. This time her face was radiant as she wore it, and there was no fear.
The point I would like to bring out in this testimony is the rewards of a simple, uncomplicated obedience to God's Word. The power of wearing the veiling is evident. Even the demons tremble before it! We praise God for the way He used the veiling to bring out the evil roots that we had no way of knowing were there. If these inner bondages had not been exposed by the turmoil of putting on the veiling, she certainly could not have gone on with the Lord. And of course, God receives all the glory!
Peace—Agreeing With God
I've found it thrilling to come to a deeper understanding of the many beautiful meanings God has for me in wearing a head veiling.
I am saying when I wear it that I agree with God's order of headship. I agree to submit to Him first and then to my husband and the other leaders he has set over me. This spiritual covering is really a security every woman craves.
My veiling reminds me of the hidden life of prayer and victory I am called to. The love, joy and peace that comes from my communion with Him is essential in our frustrating world. It also reminds me that I am Christ's bride, and of the longing He has for me to be pure, and to have my own expectations fulfilled in Him.
The "hidden glory" speaks to me of covering my ideas and laying down my feelings, so I can hear His voice, and so His glory can be revealed. It reminds me to be instant in prayer and alert to His leading; to remain at rest in Him, and in those He has placed over me. For only then can we be under His control and prophesy for Him.
I believe it does me no good to wear a veil if my life is not in accord with what it symbolizes. We women need special protection. I've experienced the protecting power of being covered. The angels are our ministering spirits against the enemy. There is tremendous power in a quiet, restful spirit and devoted prayer life. Mountains do move!
"'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit', says the Lord. 'Who are you, O great mountain?'" (Zech. 4:6-7a)
A Witness to the World
"Is there any significance to the way you wear your hair?"
"Yes, I'm a Christian and it's a witness to the world of my life in Christ."
I've had many opportunities this past year during the different times Delbert, my husband, was in the hospital to share about why I have my head veiled. It became a real blessing to me because in the process of testifying to others it became more meaningful in my own understanding.
It is hard to know exactly what to say when we meet people in passing and they ask mainly out of curiosity. I began to realize that often they were seeking to find out my identity—a nun, Mennonite, what? That is what prompted the answer given above to a man I once met on an elevator. This exchange of two sentences was all that time allowed us, and also, once he knew my identity, he seemed anxious to be on his way!
Other times, we meet people who really are interested in hearing
more and we must trust the Spirit to direct as to how we should
share with them. I remember a time when a young Catholic man,
who knew his Bible, asked me about my veiling. He knew about
1 Corinthians 11, and said, "Oh yes, St. Paul talks about a
woman being covered when she prays or prophesies", and then
questioned me about wearing it all the time. Then I had the
blessing of sharing how that personally by wearing the veiling
all the time I was continually in the position to pray or
share Christ with others.
However, the joy of wearing the head veiling goes much deeper than this. I can wear it with joy as I understand that I am who and what and where God wants me to be. It tells me that He wants me to give up my own ideas, my own desires, my own selfish nature and to come under His authority and plan for my life, expressed to me through my husband and the other leaders He has placed over me. God has chosen my covered head to show the world that man's glory is to be covered and man's uncovered head is to show that His glory is to be revealed.
Living this way brings such joy, peace, and security!
Because of the Angels...
Recently, as I was sitting in my Sunday School class listening to the teacher's comments on angels, I suddenly had a new understanding of the verse: "For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels." (1 Cor. 11:10).
Since that time, the significance of it has become more exciting to me as I have pondered over it and shared it with others.
Angels are not omniscient beings. They are wise, they are powerful, they are both invisible and visible at times, they are immortal, and they are holy. But they are not all-knowing.
Angels operate by signs. On that long ago, eventful night in Egypt, when the death-angel passed through the land, claiming the firstborn of every household, the Israelites were protected by a sign—the blood that was painted on their door posts.
The power and protection of the veiling is that it is evidence that I am under the authority of another. As the angels recognize this sign, they are ministering in my behalf and protecting me from the attacks of Satan. I'm sure that I cannot begin to comprehend all of the warfare that is going on in the spiritual world and the tremendous protection that is mine; not only in wearing the veiling, but also in being covered by the authority God has placed over me.
I thank God for His many blessings in wearing the head veiling.
