Complete Submission 

'"Submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 4: 7).

Oh, how much is meant in these few words! And what a difficult task to get humanity to adhere to them. But here lies the secret of spiritual wealth. We believe we are safe in saying, God has more trouble with souls at this point than any other. It is no great task to get souls to do some big thing, or make some great outside sacrifice; but the great difficulty is to get them to fully and completely abandon themselves to God's will, without reserve.

Let us now define the word "submit." At first sight it only seems to mean "surrender," i.e., ceasing to war with God and His truth. But that is far from the full meaning of the word; for one could go this far and still hate God in his heart.

But let us notice a few things involved in this "submission:" 1. A complete yielding of all one's powers to God for time and eternity. 2. A complete yielding of choice for time and eternity. 3. It must not be a forced submission, such as a defeated general renders to his conqueror, but a cheerful one, such as the happy bride renders to the choice of her love-not grudgingly, not with dissatisfaction, as though you had made a bad bargain, but a contented submission, so that if you should live upon earth dissatisfied again.

There would be no difficulty to get missionaries for the home and foreign fields, or preachers for poor circuits, or workers for the slums and dives of the city, if the professed Christians were fully submitted to God--soul, body, time, talent and influence, for past, present and future. A soul that is fully submitted to God never draws back from duty; never complains against the providence of God; never complains at losses or crosses; never complains about the heat or cold, wet or dry; never censures God for what appears to be partiality; but is so submitted that it accepts all that comes its way as from God, knowing that nothing can come, neither from men or devils, without God's permission. Hence, a fully submitted soul never complains about sickness, losses, mishaps, or any such things, since he is conscious of the fact that not a hair of his head can fall to the ground without the notice of his heavenly Father. See Heb. 13: 5; Phil. 2: 12-15.

Again, a fully surrendered soul never gets alarmed and wrought up concerning how it is to get food and raiment. Its duty is to serve God, and do all in its power to have the necessities of life; but if all this is done and still no way opens, it is to rest implicitly upon God.

Fully submitted souls never find fault or blame others for what is said about or done to them. They make God responsible for all that comes their way.

Fully submitted souls never go to law nor contend with anyone for their rights, but commit all commit all to Him who has said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." See Matt. 5: 39, 40.

Fully committed and trusting souls never take the care of their possessions out of God's hands and put them into the hands of an insurance company. (I say the fully committed and trusting soul does not do such things.) If you are not fully committed, you may criticize this statement. The wholly committed soul has turned soul, body, spirit, possessions and all, over into the hand of the all-wise, all-powerful, ever-present God, Who has said, "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil" (Psa. 121: 6, 7). Hence, his goods cannot burn up or be destroyed without permission from high heaven.

O, brother, friend! This is what it means to be fully submitted to God-all turned over into His hands. Without this, there is no constant trust, or perfect rest.