THAT RICH YOUNG ruler gladly kept all the commandments, and he
Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when the young man heard this, he went away sadly, for he was very rich.
Matthew 19:21, 22
11. Surrender
THAT RICH YOUNG ruler gladly kept all the commandments, and he searched out even more ways to serve his God. But when Jesus told him he would have to give up everything he treasured in his life, the young man simply could not do it.
J. H. Jowett comments on this:
He hallowed the inch, but not the mile. He would go part of the way, but not to the end. And the peril is upon us all. We give ourselves to the Lord, but we reserve some liberties. We offer Him our home, but we mark some rooms "Private." And that word, "Private," denying the Lord admission, crucifies Him afresh.
My being a tramp for the Lord, going over the whole world, was real training for me in surrender and trust. I learned that the safest place in the world is in the center of the will of God. This is always true, even sometimes when it seems as if following God's will is physically dangerous.
Shortly after the war, I was alone in America. It was Saturday morning in Chicago. I paid the taxi driver and stepped into the YWCA. The lady in the office did not look very happy to see me.
"The office is almost closed, lady," she said. "Have you a room for me?" I asked. "No. Come back on Monday."
"Will you telephone the nearest police station, then, and ask them if I can sleep in a cell tonight?"
JESUS IS VICTOR
She looked very surprised. "Why?"
"Well, | come from Holland, and in Holland no woman has to stay in the street during the night. There is always room in a police station, in a cell, and Iam sure that in America it will be the same. I would not think of remaining on the street all night in a town like Chicago."
She left the office for a minute, then came back and said, "We have found a room for you."
That was exactly what I had hoped would happen, and I went to my room. It was not the most beautiful room. It was very high up in the building and very small, but much more luxurious than the cell I was living in a year before, in the prison camp.
I did not go out on Sunday. It was raining, and I had discovered that when it rains in America, it pours. I needed some time for rest and for talking with the Lord. As a matter of fact, my first experience in Chicago had scared me. I did not know anyone there, and it was such a big, strange city to face alone.
That Sunday in my room, I had a good talk with the Lord. I confessed my fears to Him and surrendered the whole trip through America to His will. Two weeks after, the Lord blessed my ministry in America in a way that must have made the angels rejoice. The Lord did much good work through the many talks in all the little churches. God opened the doors and the hearts of Chicago for me, and Moody
Bible Institute gave me such a welcome that I have never since felt alone in Chicago.
My Lord knows the way through the wilderness—all I have to do is follow and to put my hand into His hand. He holds me.
There is only one force more powerful than fear, and that is faith. Does your need seem big to you? Then make sure that God knows how big it looks to your eyes, and He will treat it as such. He will never belittle it, however trivial. He will not laugh at it, or at us. He never forgets how large our problems look to us.
Does your need seem as big as the throne of grace? Do we not there—and there alone—see it in the right proportion?
We ask, "Do you believe that the Lord is your Shepherd?"
That fatal word but shows that we do not believe the Lord is our Shepherd. "Yes, I believe it, but I do not have victory over my bad temper, and I am not able to win souls. I worry over things. I do not have peace and joy."
The testimony of victory puts but into the right place. "I am passing through a time of great sorrow and trouble, but the Lord is my Shepherd. I have been discouraged about my past accomplishment, but the Lord is my Shepherd."
Set yourself against being disturbed by disturbing things. Say to yourself, "Being upset is useless. It has bad results, it is sinful. It reproaches my Master. I will not be upset."
Amy Carmichael wrote:
He, Who loved you unto death, is speaking to you. Listen, do not be deaf and blind to Him. And as you keep quiet and listen, you will know, deep down in your heart, that you are loved. As the air is around about you, so is His love around about you now. Trust that love to guide your lives. It will never, never fail. You know how we have watched the great sea washing over the rocks, flooding them till they overflow? That is what the love of God does for us. We have no love in ourselves and our pools would soon be empty if it were not for that glorious inexhaustible sea of love which extends to you and me. Lord, do Thou turn me all into love, and all my love into obedience, and let my obedience be without interruption.
If His will be your will, and His way be your way, then all your insufficiency and inaptitude shall be met by the sufficiency of His grace.
Obey the voice of the Lord Jesus, who says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28 kjv). Come! Like a mother says to a fearful child, "Come." Nothing else is necessary. When you come to Him, He does the job.
Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in..." (Revelation 3:20 kjv).
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God..." (John 1:12 kjv). That means to become a member of the very family of God, and ". .. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3 kjv). We cannot expect peace or rest until we personally find it in Jesus
Christ. When we do, we can say, "... For 1 know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Timothy 1:12 jv).
Know that Christ is the Lord of all: your mind, your spirit, your body. Let Christ's teachings live in your heart, making you rich in true wisdom. Put everything in His hands.
The first time a cowboy heard the story of Jesus riding on an unbroken colt, he exclaimed, "What wonderful hands He must have had!" Consider the hands of Christ: artist's hands that created all the beauty of this world; love-pierced hands of the kindest Friend that man ever had; hands that are aching to take our own and guide us in ways that are good for us; skillful hands, worthy of our trust and love.
Let us let Him clasp our hands a little tighter, and trust Him a little more than ever before—that our paths may be straighter and gladder than in the past. Let us make more time for prayer, so that we increase the pressure of that hand on ours. Their touch is so light, and the whisper so soft, it is easy to miss them.
A young, discouraged artist fell asleep beside the picture that he was trying to complete. His master quietly entered the room, and, bending over the sleeping pupil, placed on the canvas, with his own skillful hand, the beauty that the painting lacked.
When we, tired and spent, lay down the work done in our own strength, our own great Master will make perfect our picture. He will remove every stain, every blemish, and every failure from our service. He will add the brightest luster to our service, and He will give us the highest honor for our work.
Shall we not surrender to the One who can make us His victorious artists? Paul wrote: '
My brothers, I do not consider myself to have grasped it fully even now. But I do concentrate on this: I forget all that lies behind me and with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead I go straight for the goal—my reward the honour of my high calling by God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13, 14 PHILLIPs
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glory without fault and with unspeakable joy, to the only God, our saviour, be glory and majesty, power and authority. ...
Jude 24 PHILLIPs