You Will Give Your Life Away Today. To Whom Will You Give It?

Whatever/whoever you give yourself to, will to a great extent control you and even determine the outcome of your life. When you offer yourself to a person or a pursuit, it will change your life. This is very obvious in so many areas of life. It is most true in the area of our soul. We may want to think that we can surrender parts of our life to God and other parts to ourselves, but there is no surrendering yourself to yourself. You are always in every area surrendered to another.

The implications are deep. Every area of your life is taken. It may be taken by God, or by the enemy. The great thing is, you get to choose to whom you surrender your life. You can freely choose to surrender every area of your life to Christ. What a great blessing. 

One of the great old hymns of the Church deals with this truth. Here are the words of Take My Life and Let It Be

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.

The lyrics for this song were written by Frances Havergal. She only lived 43 years, which is less time than I've been alive. But her heart and pen left at least 80 songs and a few writings for us. She was a talented and brilliant woman who learned Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and memorized the Psalms, the book of Isaiah, and most of the New Testament.

The apostle Paul wrote this to Christians in Rome...

Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. I am using a human analogy because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to moral impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. But now, since you have been liberated from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification—and the end is eternal life! (Romans 6:16-22)

We are all bound to obey someone. But we get to choose to whom we are bound. If you don't like serving Satan and having him dictate your life, then surrender your life to God. God is more than happy to take the reins of your life and guide you into glorious freedom.  

You may think that it could not be so easy as shifting your position of submission. But it is. Look at what Paul said, "although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to, and having been liberated from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. " If you are tired of being wasted by the enemy of your soul, change teams and give your life to the Lover of your soul.

If you want to get the most out of life, you have to give the entirety of your life to the God who designed you and desires you. He has a great plan for you. He will never harm you. He made you for greatness. Every aspect of your life is purposed for His glory and your good. He will lift you up and place you where you were meant to be from the beginning. But God will not maximize you against your will. He only restores willing vessels. Be a willing vessel today. If you want to live the victorious and productive life, go back and re-read the hymn as a commitment.

[Bible quotes are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted.]
 
Find more of David’s work at Heart Of Ministry.

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