Take My Life and Let it Be

 

There is this beautiful hymn that randomly popped up in my head the other day that I've been humming the melody to myself most recently. The first verse goes:

"Take my life, and let it be. Consecrated, Lord to thee; Take my hands, and let them move. At the impulse of Thy love; At the impulse of Thy love."

It's funny how the brain works. Recently I've been re-reading the book Steps To Christ by Ellen G. White (a book I highly, highly recommend). I read this book whenever I feel the need to get back to to the basics, because sometimes Satan feeds you the lie that God is too far away out of reach and most times you need to be reminded that the devil is a liar.

It's a short, simple book consisting of only 13 chapters, each chapter giving you the tools of how to do the foundational work of walking and growing with Jesus. I've also been following along also with the reading challenge with Pastor David Assherick over on YouTube: SCwithDA if you want to check it out.

I recently finished chapter 8 titled: Growing Up Into Christ which triggered my brain to remember this particular hymn. I think it's one of my new favourite chapters of the whole book. I really have been struggling with trying to return to first love with God. So many distractions in life that have been taking my attention my focus away from the One who deserves it all, the constant cycle of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram & Tik Tok, then next thin you know its 11pm and you haven't even spent time with God. You get to the point where you don't even know where to start, the shame plagues the mind on how do I even approach my Father, how dare I even enter back into his presence after so long.

But God is such a merciful loving Father, who is standing there with open arms, waiting always for us to return back to first love in Him.

Much of the shame and frustration when we fall back into these cycles and habits is that we think in our own strength we can resist temptation, that with enough willpower and mental fortitude if we just think hard enough we can just magically become disciplined again in living right. But the truth is we can't.

Ellen White breaks it down perfectly:

"Many have an idea that they must do some of the work alone. They have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sin, but. now they seek by their own efforts to live aright. But every such effort must fail. Jesus says, "Without Me ye can do nothing." Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness,-all depend upon our union with Christ. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly,-by abiding in Him,-that we are to grow in grace." Steps to Christ pg.69.1

We can do nothing by ourselves, this is just the truth of the matter. We will fail and fail each and every time which will eventually lead to discouragement and despair. But we have such a blessed hope in Him who holds this whole world together, He's not a tyrant who berates those that fail but when we ask for help He will always answer.

Starting is so simple:

"Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, "Take me, O lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee." This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. This day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ." Steps to Christ pg.70.1

 

May our prayers forever be:

"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. It shall be Thy royal throne."

Read or listen to Steps To Christ online here 

Discover more about the author of Steps To Christ, Ellen G. White here

Fear Not

 

I've joined in on this 75-day reading challenge that is being led by Pastor David Asscherick in reading Patriarchs & Prophets by Ellen G. White. This book goes through the first half of the old testament providing context to some of the stories we know so well and to the ones we may not know so much about. It's been such an incredible read and has made me fall in love with God and His Word all over again, so I encourage everyone to take part! You can catch up on the challenge on David Asscherick's YouTube channel here or follow him on his Instagram page where he uploads his notes here or follow along with the hashtag: #OTwithDA.

I am quite a bit behind, but I like the pace that I'm going with at the moment. I have just finished reading Chapter 17 of the book which covers Jacob's Flight and Exile after having deceived his father Isaac and his brother Esau into receiving the birthright (a recap that I may cover in another blog post). Jacob's whole story is so heart-wrenching and so beautiful at the same time and you can go back and read the story in Genesis 28-31. But Jacob's story beautifully portrays God's goodness and graciousness despite Jacob's shortcomings and sinful actions, whilst also showing the impact and consequences of our poor decisions; such a beauty for ashes turnaround.

There's this rubric that David Asscherick goes through after each chapter which I feel helps me summarise what I've learnt and put things into better perspective:

Point - "What is the point of this chapter?" "What has it taught you?"

Person - "What has this chapter revealed to you about the person/character of God?"

Prayer - "How would you pray this chapter"

Practice - "How would you practice this chapter? "What practical lessons could you draw from this chapter?"

Promise - "What is God's promise to you through what you've read in this chapter?"

So, to summarise this chapter I start with one word. What is one word that could encapsulate this entire chapter? For me, this would simply be: Fear

Why fear you may ask? When you go back and read through those chapters, the bible tells in great detail how fearful Jacob was when he had to flee for his safety from the wrath of his brother Esau. Not only this, but the deception also caused him to fear and question whether God had turned away from him. Even in the harsh and manipulative treatment from his uncle Laban, the main reason why he didn't leave that toxic environment sooner was because he still had great fear that if he were to leave, that Esau would find him and kill him. This was still the main fear in his heart even after God's reassurance (Jacob's ladder) and even after 20 years.

So in response to the rubric, this is what I took from the chapter:

Point - That our sinful actions have consequences (Proverbs 13:15). To also reveal God's faithfulness to His promise and covenant first made to Abraham carried out and fulfilled through Jacob (Land & Descendants).

Person - This chapter revealed to me that God is who He says He is. Emmanuel: God is WITH us.

Prayer - God, help me to stand firm on your promises and to not live in a constant state of anxiety and fear; despite the chaos that is going on around me. Knowing that you are with me always and will not forsake me.

Practice - Heed only to Godly counsel and don't allow ungodly opinions/advice to lead me astray. Jacob listened to the unwise counsel from his mother Rebekah which ended up causing dire consequences that impacted future generations.

Promise - "What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you." - [Genesis 28:15 NLT]

Want to know where you can read Patriarchs & Prophets by Ellen G. White? I've included some links below :)

Read Patriarchs & Prophets online here

Listen to an Audiobook of Patriarchs & Prophets here

Discover more about the author of Patriarchs and Prophets, Ellen G. White here