I am DETERMINED to be that man

An evangelist once told a former shoe salesman turned preacher: “Dwight L. Moody, there is no limit to what God can do with a man who is yielded and willing to do His will!”

Moody looked him in the eye and replied, “By the grace of God, I am determined to be that man!”-And he was!

A short while later, Moody moved to Chicago where he began telling others about Jesus and what He had done for him.

Moody was soon so thrilled to find that he could lead other folks to the Lord, that he quit the shoe business and began serving Him full time. He went on to become one of the world’s greatest evangelists. By the time he died in 1899, Moody had led tens of thousands of people to Jesus, and started a number of the ministries that are still going strong today.

But what if Moody had not determined to yield to the Lord? What a sad loss it would have been, not only for him, but also for millions who have since heard the Gospel as a result of that single, resolute decision!

The same holds true for each of us: If we are not yielded and open to God’s will in our lives, if we are not willing to do whatever He may ask of us, we’ll never be all that God wants us to be or accomplish all that He wants us to do. That would be very sad, not only for us personally, but also for all those that the Lord wants us to reach and help with His love.

“Am I willing to sign a blank sheet of paper and let God fill it in without my even knowing what His program is going to be?”

“But,” you may argue, “I could never do anything great for the Lord, like Moody did! I’m no flaming evangelist or outstanding soul winner.” Well, neither was Moody to begin with. He was just a poor farm boy and a below-average student that never made it past the fifth or sixth grade, who became bored with life on the farm and moved to the big city of Boston. After several weeks in the city, he set a new goal for himself: to become a big businessman and to make $100,000 [the equivalent of today’s millionaire]. Giving his life to God’s service was the last thing on his mind!

In fact, when Moody was first saved, he was so completely ignorant of God’s Word and truth that one church committee refused him membership. Some of his friends later said that of all the people they had known, they could hardly think of anyone who seemed less likely to ever become a strong Christian, much less to go on to do what he did for the Lord.

But when Dwight Moody found Jesus and realized how much the Lord had given for him, then he determined to give his life to the Lord and to do whatever God would ask of him. The Bible tells us, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). This is the secret of success of not just Moody, but of every man or woman whom God has ever used to the full: They drew close to the Lord and relied solely upon Him and His power and His Word for guidance, strength, and inspiration.

Despite all of our faults, weaknesses, and inabilities, there really is no limit to what God can do with us if we will simply turn our lives over to Him and be willing to let Him make us what He wants us to be. Of course, that is a very big “if,” because we each have our own free will, and we can choose to either yield to Him and “seek first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33), or we can seek first our own desires and plans and ways.

The choice is ours, and whether or not we have His full blessing and His help will depend on whether or not we are willing to give Him first place in our lives.

Many Christians today seem to be more concerned about having God accept what they want to do than they are about accepting what God wants them to do. They’re trying to put their programs across to God, to get Him to sign His name and give His approval to their plans. The question they should be asking themselves is not, “Can I present my program to God for His signature?” or even, “Am I willing to be presented with God’s program for my signature?” but rather, “Am I willing to sign a blank sheet of paper and let God fill it in without my even knowing what His program is going to be?” That’s the real test of yieldedness!

If you’re willing to be what God wants you to be-not what you are, but what God wants you to be-then He can mightily use you. God knows you can’t do it yourself. You have to turn your life, your mind, your heart, your everything over to the Lord and let Him make it for you! When you finally get to the point where you surrender to Him, where you let go of your own way and let God have His, then God has a chance to step in and do it-and He will! Just give Him a chance.

When you’re giving your all to the Lord, then you don’t need to worry about anything. Your entire life is in His hands, under His loving care, and the Devil has nothing that He can get a hold of or lay claim to. In fact, to really overcome the Devil, submission to God’s will is exactly what the Lord requires. “Submit to God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

There is no limit to what God can do with a man who is yielded and willing to do His will.

But as long as there are any areas of your life that you’re not willing to yield to the Lord, if there’s even one little part that you refuse to surrender, the enemy of your soul can use that against you. This is why God’s Word tells us to give no place to the Devil (Ephesians 4:27).

It’s like the story of Huddersfield: A rich landowner decided to buy the entire village of Huddersfield, and over time he bought every piece of land in the area-every piece, that is, except one little plot. One stubborn old farmer refused to sell his tiny piece of land, and nothing would change his mind. The landowner even offered the farmer much more money than his property was actually worth, but the farmer was so fond of his land that he absolutely refused to sell. When the landowner finally gave up, he tried to encourage himself by saying, “What difference does just one little plot of land make? I’ve bought everything else, so Huddersfield is mine. It belongs to me!”

But the stubborn old farmer overheard him and said, “Oh, no it doesn’t! We own Huddersfield. It belongs to you and me!”

Don’t let the Devil be able to say that of you to God! “Aha! Look, God! He’s yielded everything except this one little thing! Even though he belongs mostly to You, a little bit still belongs to me!”

To have real peace of heart and mind, you must commit your all to the Lord. Then, when your will is in perfect harmony with God’s will, He will bless you with His perfect peace.

By David BB.