A Life of Humble Submission

By: Jeffrey Huang, former YG Doulos member (Class of 2010)

For the past seven years, Benjamin Tzeng has served as my youth group director, youth pastor, counselor, discipler, mentor, Bible study teacher, Bible Quizzing coach, friend, tennis hitting buddy, love guru, and much more. However, what I have concluded to be one of the most important lessons Ben has taught me was not one that was learned directly. If you ever had the honor of hearing Pastor Ben’s testimony, you would know that it is one of great submission to God.

I first found myself hearing Ben’s testimony at Teen Camp. Long story short, this is a guy who had it all and gave it all away to Jesus Christ. He had a prestigious electrical engineering degree from the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), and a lucrative consulting career at Accenture. But he left both to pursue God’s calling for him to serve in youth ministry. He trusted the health of his family, both the spiritual and physical aspects, into God’s hands, praying fervently that his sisters would come to Christ and that his dad would recover from his stroke. And while all of this was going on, he prayed patiently for nearly a decade after college for God to provide him with the right spouse, when ironically his friends thought he would be amongst the first to get married.

Read: James 4:1-12.

In high school, like many of my peers, I wanted to fit in. This desire to conform was publicly manifested in the clothes I wore, the catch phrases I threw around, and especially in having a girlfriend. I also found pride in my academic and athletic achievements. Those were the things that I based found my identity on. James warns us specifically against these mundane “needs” and their potential dangers. If you stop to think about it, James is absolutely right in the first verse. Why is there so much violence, jealousy, hatred, anger, etc. in the world? It all stems from worldly desires that we possess and that we quarrel over to an unfortunate extent.

I’m sure that you’ve at least once in your lifetime asked God for something you desperately wanted - perhaps an Xbox 360, a boy/girl friend, an A on a test, a car, you name it – and didn’t receive what you asked for. James says in v.3 that a reason God may not have given us these things is because we asked for them with the wrong intentions. When we try to satisfy our worldly needs by asking God to help, we are essentially treating him like a vending machine and we are taking our relationship with Him for granted. It’s pretty clear to God that when we selfishly request Him, who is supposed to be first in our lives, to give us what we want, we are putting our wants, our desires, and our plans before His.

What we cannot forget is that, as Christians, we are not of this world, nor do we have a place in it. Our home is with God in His heavenly kingdom. Our job here is merely to be ambassadors of God’s kingdom and to be a light to this world. James goes as far to say that if we embrace the values of this world, then we are showing hatred towards God and becoming His enemy. However, our God is a merciful god that never fails to show us grace. If we choose to submit ourselves to Him, however, we will find that He has more in store for us than we could have ever imagined. Our God loves us very dearly, and I’m sure He finds great joy in seeing us happy. However, He also knows and wants what’s best for each one of us. It’s difficult for us to surrender our individual needs for His ultimate plan, but if we choose to submit, it shows that we not only trust and have faith in Him, but also that we love Him. On top of that, if what we ask for aligns with his purpose for us and is not for our own personal pleasure, He has no problem in answering our prayers.

Knowing that we must submit ourselves to Christ, what does that look like in our lives? James says in v.8-9 that we must first do two things. First, we must purify ourselves from sin. This means that we must come before God, knowing that we are sinners and are completely helpless without Jesus, and repent. Remember, repenting doesn’t mean just saying sorry and then continuing on with our normal lifestyles. There must be a change from within – a change responsible by only the Holy Spirit, who gives us discernment in reading God’s word and directs us daily to live more fruitfully. Next, we must humble ourselves before God. We are lost and helpless sheep with Christ and so we must be willing to hand over 100% of our lives to Him, not just certain parts of it. To do this, we have to swallow our pride and accept that His way will always be better than ours.

Pastor Ben’s life is a clear reflection of this humble submission. It is truly amazing to see how God works in each person’s life, and I am positive that God has a plan that is just as awesome in store for you. All you have to do is submit and surrender control of your life over to God. Take your hand off the wheel and let him do the steering for you. After all, He knows the route better than you do.