Leaving All to Follow Jesus

Dwight L. Moody had a very humble, unassuming childhood. He was born on this day in 1837 on a small New England farm. As a young boy, he became a clerk in his uncle’s shoe store. One of the requirements was attending church, and one of the Sunday school teachers led him to accept Christ while Moody was wrapping shoes one day.

Gradually, Moody felt God’s call to give up working with shoes and focus on spreading the Gospel. In the fall of 1858, he started his own Sunday school in an abandoned freight car in Chicago.

In June 1860, Moody dedicated himself full-time to the Gospel. His ministry grew and eventually extended worldwide as he founded Moody Bible Institute and held revival meetings throughout the United States and Europe.

What made Moody different? His associate, R.A. Torrey, felt that “the first thing” was that “he was a fully surrendered man.” Moody was “imperfect,” but “he was a man who belonged wholly to God.”

Early in Moody’s ministry, British evangelist Henry Varley told him, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” Moody reportedly said, “I will be that man.”

Moody told Torrey one day, “If I believed that God wanted me to jump out of that window, I would jump.” That is how much he trusted God! What an example of wholehearted commitment to serve the Lord.

God still looks for men and women who, like Moody, will be wholly committed to Him. He wants to save souls, demonstrate His power, and change the world.

Today, commit your life fully to God. Don’t hold anything back. Just as the disciples did, leave your “nets” and follow Jesus. Then watch to see what He does through your life!