Letting Go - The Wesleyan Church

Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 7:25)

I WAS DRIVING BACK TO COLLEGE when God brought to mind that story in Genesis 32 where Jacob told an angel that he would not let the angel go until he blesses Jacob. I began to wonder how serious I was about giving everything to God. Would I truly do anything He asked of me? Did He truly have access to my whole life, all my hopes and dreams, all my ambitions?

I had a sense of conviction that I had not entirely given myself to God, that I was holding something back. Like the person Paul illustrated in Romans 7, I was reaching a point of ultimate decision. Was I going to give God everything, or begin to move away from Him, a path that might eventually break our relationship?

I determined that I would go to a church that night and not leave until my heart was right with God. I did not have to wait that long. The moment I made that decision, I felt the load lift. As the apostle Paul expressed in this verse, I felt a spirit of great thanks to God. What a release! What joy!

When I arrived back on campus, I did go to church. But it was to give God thanks for blessing me with the peace of His Holy Spirit.

Surrender your entire life to Christ.

Ken Schenck is dean of the School of Theology and Ministry and professor of New Testament and ancient languages at Indiana Wesleyan University. His publications include The Early Church: Reaching the World (WPH) and more.