His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature… II Peter 1:3, 4 (NIV)
With the New Year approaching, it’s time to make those requisite goals that we talk about every year and that 8% of us actually achieve. The data is a little discouraging, isn’t it, but look at the kind of resolutions we make: self improvement (including weight loss and education), money issues, and relationship resolutions. However, people who set specific goals are 10 times more likely to achieve them than those who don’t.
I’ve recently come across a book from my mother’s library and written by Frances Ridley Havergal whom you will know from her poems and hymns. Havergal was the daughter of a cleric and lived in the mid-1800’s. Growing up in a clergy family, Frances was well acquainted with religion, but she said that until she fully surrendered to Jesus Christ, she did not have the full blessedness of being a Christian.
From the experience of her consecration, Frances wrote the well-loved hymn, Take My Life and Let It Be. It could well be a good beginning for this year’s resolutions:
Take my life, and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
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 intellect, and use
Every power 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.
Father, take us anew and afresh at the outset of this coming year and make us wholly thine. We dedicate ourselves, our gifts, and all we are to your purposes and your glory. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.
agodforeveryday 