Many of the anxieties we experience stem from failing to surrender to God’s providence. Think about some of the concerns you will face this week. Perhaps you need to deal with a difficult person. Maybe you are facing a legal matter or a health issue, or you may not like how your life is now. We are usually desperate to find a quick way out of difficult situations like these, but what if we didn’t? Or, at least, even if we were seeking a way out, we could still be content if the Lord said, “No, this is my will for you.”
Sinclair Ferguson tells the story of preaching at a Methodist church early in his ministry. It was the first Sunday in January, which, for the congregation, was their New Year covenant renewal service. Ferguson says he cannot recall what he preached that day but has never forgotten the covenant they recited.
As you read the covenant below, my challenge is to read it in light of all your current anxieties.
I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee.
Exalted for thee, or brought low for thee.
Let me be full; let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
to thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine, so be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.
If you can read that and wholeheartedly say “Amen,” it will radically transform your hardships and anxieties into opportunities to serve the Lord.
We often want to be people of great faith, but when the Lord puts us in situations where great faith is needed, we immediately wish to get out of them. Maybe this year can be a year of surrender to his will instead of becoming anxious and frantically looking for a way out whenever something difficult crosses our path. Maybe we could unwaveringly say, “Your will be done.”
-D. Eaton
The Fight of Faith 