All to Jesus I Surrender - The Story Behind the Song

 

If you grew up in a traditional church, you undoubtedly sung many of the verses of the hymn, "I Surrender All." It was/is a staple of the invitation portion of church and revival services. Songs of personal commitment to Christ often stem from a particular experience in the life of the author. This is a good example.

The author of the hymn, Judson Van de Venter (1855-1939) was raised on a farm near Dundee, Michigan. After graduating from Hillsdale College, he taught art in public schools in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Van Deventer was active in his Methodist Episcopal Church, including participation in revivals held at the church. He had a heart for God and a passion to share the Good News with others. Based on his fervent faith and service to the church, friends encouraged him to leave his field of teaching and become an evangelist, but it took him five years to finally "surrender all" and go into full-time ministry. He writes of the experience: 

The song was written while I was conducting a meeting at East Palestine, Ohio, and in the home of George Sebring. For some time, I had struggled between developing my talents in the field of art and going into full-time evangelistic work. At last the pivotal hour of my life came, and I surrendered all. A new day was ushered into my life. I became and evangelist and discovered down deep in my soul a talent hitherto unknown to me. God had hidden a song in my heart, and touching a tender chord, he caused me to sing. (Quoted by Kenneth Osbeck, 101 More Hymn Stories.)

After surrendering his all to the Lord, he joined the ministry of evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman. His ministry took him to various places in the United States, England, and Scotland. In his life he wrote around 75 hymns, but his most famous is also his most personal. Judson Van de Venter surrendered his all to the Lord, and the Lord is still using this man's works to impact the world for the kingdom of God. 

You never know what God will do through one moment of surrender!

God and Gold Medals

 

But now the Lord declares: "Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained." 1 Samuel 2:30 NIV

Before this year, the Summer Olympics were last held in France 100 years ago in 1924. One of the stars of the 1924 Olympic Games was a runner named Eric Liddell. Known as the "Flying Scotsman," Liddell went to Paris as the favorite to win gold in the 100 meter, However when the races were scheduled, the 100 meter was to be on Sunday. A devout Christian, raised by missionary parents in China, Liddell refused to participate. He claimed Sunday was the Lord's Day, a day of rest not competition. Teammates, friends and even politicians pressured and begged him to change his mind, but he refused. It was determined that he would run the 400 meter that would be on a different day. 

No one expected Liddell to do very well in the 400 since he had not really trained for it. Some people even criticized him for his religious faith. One reporter wrote that Liddell "...should look down the track rather than look up to the sky.” Just before he headed to the stadium to compete in the 400m finals a trainer gave him a note that read, “ In the Old Book it says, “He that honors Me, him I will honor”1Samuel 2:30. To everyone's surprise, he not only won the gold medal, Liddell also broke the Olympic and world records for the 400 meter at the time. He would also win bronze in the 200 meter. 

Soon after the Paris Olympics, Liddell married his fiancée and began to serve as a missionary with the London Missionary Society's mission in China, where his parents had been worked and where he had been born. When the Japanese invaded China at the start of WW2 Liddell decided to stay and minister to others. Eventually, Liddell was captured and imprisoned in a Japanese internment camp. When he had an opportunity to be freed, he declined a prisoner swap so an expectant mother could go home. He ministered daily to those around him. Even in prison, not a day passed that Eric did not spend time reading Scripture and praying. He surrendered himself to be used of God in a prison camp.

In 1945 Liddell developed an an inoperable brain tumor. As he lay dying, he reminded those attending him to surrender everything to the will of God. While slipping into a coma, he was heard trying to say the word that typified his life – “surrender.” He died in a Japanese prison camp, but fellow prisoners said, “Jesus Christ was among us because we saw Him in Eric Liddell."

Eric Liddell received a gold medal in the 1924 Olympics for his efforts in a competition, but he received something greater than a gold medal from the Lord for his surrender to Christ. Friends, don't waste your life living for the wrong things, live the the eternal. 

(The film "Chariots of Fire" (1981) told the story of Eric Liddell and the Olympic Games.)

Recently God has been pushing me to get out of my comfort zone. I'm a really "hands-on" guy. I grew up with the these words being drilled into my head: "If you want something done right, do it yourself." As a result, I want to do everything myself. So God has been working to reprogram my thinking for leadership. Leadership is not doing everything yourself. Leadership is empowering others to do what God has gifted and called them to do.

I've been studying Simple Church, and one of the keys to a successful church is leadership development. In the Scriptures it says that God gives leadership to the church so that the members are equipped to do the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13). God always begins with leadership - people who are called to influence others for Christ.

You may be the leader God wants to develop to do something great for His glory. Most of the great leaders we read about in the Bible didn't think of themselves as great leaders: Moses made all kinds of excuses; some of the first words God said to Joshua were "Be strong and courageous" (He said it three times in one conversation); Gideon was hiding out in the threshing room when God called him; Paul was working to destroy the church. None of these guys seemed like candidates for "Leader of the Year." But when they surrendered themselves completely to God, He used them to move His people to victory and for His glory.

You may not see yourself as a leader, but God sees something in you that is greater than you can ever imagine. Would you be willing to let God have a shot at doing something great through you? The first step is to say "Yes, Lord", and then get ready for a great adventure.