Our peace and contentment always depend upon our resignation into God’s hands, no matter what our circumstance. The psalmist writes, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

If you’ve fully resigned yourself into God’s hands, then you’re able to endure any and all hardships. Your Father’s desire is for you to be able to go about your daily business without fear or anxiety, totally trusting in his care. And your resignation to him has a very practical effect in your life. The more resigned you are to God’s care and keeping, the more indifferent you’ll be to the conditions around you.

If you are resigned to him, you won’t constantly be trying to figure out the next step. You won’t be scared by the frightful news swirling around you. You won’t be overwhelmed as you think about the days ahead because you’ve entrusted your life, family and future into your Lord’s safe and loving hands.

How worried or concerned do you think sheep are as they follow their shepherd? They are not worried at all, because they’re totally resigned to his leading them. Likewise, we are the sheep of Christ, who is our great Shepherd. So, why should we ever be concerned, disquieted or worried about our lives and futures? He knows perfectly how to protect and preserve his flock because he leads us in love!

In my own life, I’ve had to learn to trust God one problem at a time. Think about it: How can I say I trust God with everything, if I haven’t proven I can trust him with just one thing? Merely saying the words, “I trust the Lord completely,” isn’t sufficient. I have to prove this over and over again in my life, in many areas and in everyday things.

Many people living today have said, “I resign, I commit, I trust,” only after they say there was no other way out of their situation. But true resignation, the kind that pleases God, is done freely and willingly, prior to our coming to wit’s end. We are to act in agreement with the Lord, as Abraham did, giving God his life as a blank check, and letting the Lord fill it all in.

You can’t weep your way into this heavenly place. You can’t study or work or will your way in. No, the only way to the throne-life is by way of a living sacrifice: “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Paul is speaking from experience. Here is a man who was rejected, tempted, persecuted, beaten, jailed, shipwrecked, stoned. Paul also had all the cares of the church laid on him. Now he’s saying to us, “Do you want to know how I came to be content in whatever condition I was placed, how I came to find true rest in Christ? Here is the path, the secret to appropriating your heavenly position: Present your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord.”

The Greek root for “living” here suggests “lifelong.” Paul is talking about a binding commitment, a sacrifice that’s made once in a lifetime. Yet, don’t misunderstand; this isn’t a sacrifice that has to do with propitiation for sin. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the only worthy propitiation: “Now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

The sacrifice Paul describes is one that God takes great pleasure in, precisely because it involves the heart. What is this sacrifice? It is one of death to our will, of laying aside our self-sufficiency and abandoning our ambitions.

When Paul exhorts, “Present your body,” he’s saying, “Draw near to the Lord.” Yet, what does this mean, exactly? It means drawing near to God for the purpose of offering our entire selves to him. It means coming to him not in our own sufficiency, but as a resurrected child, as holy in Jesus’ righteousness, as being accepted by the Father through our position in Christ. The moment you resign your will to him, the sacrifice has been made. It happens when you give up the struggle of trying to please God on your own. This act of faith is the “reasonable service” Paul refers to. It’s all about trusting him with our will, believing he’ll provide all the blessings we need.

In perilous times like these, is the church powerless to do anything? Are we to sit and wait for Christ to return? Or, are we called to take drastic action of some kind? When all around us the world is trembling, with men’s hearts failing them for fear, are we called to take up spiritual weapons and do battle with the adversary?

The prophet Joel saw a similar day approaching Israel, one of “thick darkness and gloom.” According to Joel, the day of darkness that was approaching Israel would be one such as never seen in their history. The prophet cried, “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:15).

What was Joel’s counsel to Israel in that dark hour? He brought this word: “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent” (Joel 2:12-14).

As I read this passage, I am struck by God’s words. As gross darkness fell over Israel, God appealed to his people: “Even now, at the hour of my vengeance—when you’ve pushed me out of your society, when mercy seems impossible, when humankind has mocked my warnings, when fear and gloom are covering the land—even now, I urge you to come back to me. I am slow to anger, and I have been known to hold back my judgments for a season, as I did for Josiah. My people can pray and petition for my mercy. But the world won’t repent if you say there is no mercy.”

Do you see God’s message to us in this? As his people, we can plead in prayer and he will hear us. We can make requests of him and know he will answer the sincere, effectual, fervent prayers of his saints.

Our peace and contentment always depend upon our resignation into God’s hands, no matter what our circumstance. The psalmist writes, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

If you’ve fully resigned yourself into God’s hands, then you’re able to endure any and all hardships. Your Father’s desire is for you to be able to go about your daily business without fear or anxiety, totally trusting in his care. And your resignation to him has a very practical effect in your life. The more resigned you are to God’s care and keeping, the more indifferent you’ll be to the conditions around you.

If you are resigned to him, you won’t constantly be trying to figure out the next step. You won’t be scared by the frightful news swirling around you. You won’t be overwhelmed as you think about the days ahead because you’ve entrusted your life, family and future into your Lord’s safe and loving hands.

How worried or concerned do you think sheep are as they follow their shepherd? They are not worried at all, because they’re totally resigned to his leading them. Likewise, we are the sheep of Christ, who is our great Shepherd. So, why should we ever be concerned, disquieted or worried about our lives and futures? He knows perfectly how to protect and preserve his flock because he leads us in love!

In my own life, I’ve had to learn to trust God one problem at a time. Think about it: How can I say I trust God with everything, if I haven’t proven I can trust him with just one thing? Merely saying the words, “I trust the Lord completely,” isn’t sufficient. I have to prove this over and over again in my life, in many areas and in everyday things.

Many people living today have said, “I resign, I commit, I trust,” only after they say there was no other way out of their situation. But true resignation, the kind that pleases God, is done freely and willingly, prior to our coming to wit’s end. We are to act in agreement with the Lord, as Abraham did, giving God his life as a blank check, and letting the Lord fill it all in.

I believe that Psalm 46 is a picture of the New Testament “promised land.” Indeed, Psalm 46 represents the divine rest referred to in Hebrews: “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). This Psalm describes this rest to God’s people. It speaks of his ever-present strength, his help in time of trouble, his peace in the midst of chaos. God’s presence is with us at all times, and his help always arrives on time.

Israel rejected this rest: “Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word” (Psalm 106:24). Sadly, the church today is much like Israel. In spite of God’s great promises to us—his assurance of peace, help and full supply—we don’t trust him fully. Instead, we complain, “Where is God in my trial? Is he with me or not? Where is any evidence of his presence? Why does he keep letting these hardships pile up on me?”

Today, I hear the Lord asking his church, “Do you believe I still speak to my people? Do you believe I desire to give you my help and guidance? Do you truly believe I want to speak to you daily, hourly, moment by moment?” Our response has to be like David’s. That godly man shook all hell when he made this statement about the Lord: “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:9).

Here is God’s promise to every generation who would believe his Word that he desires to speak to us: “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (33:11). The Creator of the universe wants to share his very thoughts with us!

Scripture make it clear: Our God spoke to his people in the past, he’s speaking to his people now, and he’ll continue to speak to us till the very end of time. More to the point, God wants to speak to you about your problem today. He may do it through his Word, through a godly friend, or through the Spirit’s still, small voice, whispering, “This is the way, walk in it.”

No matter what means he uses, you will recognize his voice. The sheep know the voice of their Shepherd. And, “He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 97:10).