At the Controls

Take My Life and Let It Be
Frances R. Havergal, 1874

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

Take my feet and let them be Swift and beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my moments and my days,Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

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.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be Ever, only, all for Thee.

I've posted this song before, ...twice before, but I'm not there yet. As much as I want this to be the song of my heart, my flesh still longs to have control. Instead of being totally willing to give everything to Jesus, I am more like the rich, young ruler who walked away sorrowful. It is a sobering thought. Perhaps that is why the song writer penned the words, "Take my will and make it Thine..." It's a common struggle, this war against the flesh. Even the Apostle Paul struggled and that is why he wrote, "For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice" (Romans 7:19) and "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death" (Romans 7:24)

Whether it's taking care of small children or caring for my mom, deep inside I know there is a task more important, a calling much higher, and a priority greater than most of the trivial tasks I think I'd like to pursue. Maybe one day it will be easier to let it all go.