“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17, NJKV)
William McDowell’s song entitled “I Give Myself Away” should be the solemn pledge of every child of God. As Christians, we should live our lives in such pursuit and surrender to God as if our very breath depended upon fulfilling His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). We should never plan for the future without first consulting with the Maker and Sustainer of life. I believe that God takes pleasure in us coming to Him to ask for His guidance and direction prior to making any plan for our lives.
Let it never be said of us that we are living independently of God’s guiding words of wisdom. Beloved our very life depends on God’s divine power to give us life. I love uttering these words, “I Give Myself Away, so You can use me”; the words from that song are like medicine to my soul as they reflect Paul’s letter to the Corinthians when he penned, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20, NKJV). What a heart-felt anthem of holy surrender and a powerful expression of renewed abandon to the cause of Christ!
Back to one of my favorite songs! Listen to the lyrics of William McDowell’s famous song of surrender; I pray that they minister to you as they have often ministered to me:
I Give Myself Away
Verse 1:
Here I am
Here I stand
Lord, my life is in your hands
Lord, I’m longing to see
Your desires revealed in me
I give myself away
Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
Verse 2:
Take my heart
Take my life
As a living sacrifice
All my dreams, all my plans
Lord I place them in your hand
What a beautiful lyric, “I Give Myself Away.” The epistle of James offers a powerful warning to those who think they are in control of their lives. As one author says, “Presumptuous living is dishonoring to God. When we take God for granted we rob Him of His due credit. How seldom we acknowledge that our every breath is an undeserved gift from Him! Let’s live every day with that on our minds, and make every plan contingent on, “If the Lord is willing.”
May I encourage you to live a life of complete dependence and surrender to God! I am praying for you “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age ” (Titus 2:11-12). Plan wisely and continue to live in the will of God for your life. God loves you; I love you and remember that the best is yet to come!
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