The very test of consecration is our willingness not only to surrender the things that are wrong, but to surrender our rights, to be willing to be subject. When God begins to subdue a soul, He often requires us to yield the things that are of little importance in themselves and thus breaks our necks and subdues our spirits. No Christian worker can ever be used of God until the proud self-will is broken and the heart is ready to yield to God's every touch, no matter through whom it may come. Many people want God to lead them in their way, but they will endure no authority or restraint. They will give their money, but they want to dictate how it shall be spent. They will work as long as you let them please themselves, but let any pressure come and you immediately run up against not the grace of resignation but a letter of resignation. They may withdraw from some important trust, and arouse a whole community of criticizing friends, who are equally disposed to have their own opinions and their own way. Such attitudes are destructive of all real power.
