My Life Is Not My Own

"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes. All my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt and work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost now and forever."

This prayer written by Betty Stam, a martyred missionary to China in the 1930's



You know how you can hear something over and over, and then one day you really hear it? You grasp it, take hold of it, and it becomes apart of your understanding and mind. Well that happened to me this weekend.

Recently I've had many questions about my future, and what God's will and plans are for my life. This prayer is not an unfamiliar one for God to hear. Especially from young adult believers. This season of life that we're in can seem so cloudy at times, and even stagnate. There have been times in my own life that I have cried out to God saying, "I've given you my life! I've given you everything! Why aren't you doing anything with it? What do you want with my life God?" Through this time God has taught me to trust, wait, pray.

TRUST that was my problem. What does it mean to trust? Elizabeth Elliot put it best, "It is a deliberate act, a total handing over, a pledge to do something." It sounds easier said than done, but it's one of the most critical keys to serving God. Jesus even said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it" (Matt. 16:24-25).

I've come to realize that my life is not my own. When we truly give our lives over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are no longer in charge of our lives. He is in complete and total control. Now this may seem like a "duh!" statement to some people, but to others they may not like the sound of it. They don't like the idea of not being in control of there lives, and this includes Christians. It included me until now. I have chosen to surrendered ALL to Him. That means everything, the big, the little, and everything in between. The thing is, why wouldn't I? He knows me better than I know myself. He knew me before the beginning of time, and created me exactly the way He wanted. Does not a creator know the function and purpose of what he was created? What is so important to understand is that God will not make the wrong decision for you. The guidance of Christ brings peace, joy, and total satisfaction to our lives, if we choose to obey.