History

“Take My Life and Let It Be” was written by Frances Ridley Havergal, the daughter of a Church of England minister. She was raised in a faith-filled household, with her siblings carrying on in ministry, just as she did. She began memorizing passages of Scripture at the age of four, and writing her own poetry by the age of seven. As she matured in her own craft, she would follow in her father’s footsteps to write and curate hymns for the church.

Many of her hymns and poems spoke of a complete devotion and consecration to the Lord. She was wholly committed to her devotion—it’s said that she never wrote a line of poetry that she didn’t pray over.

In addition to her skill with poetry and hymn-writing, she was an accomplished singer, sought after as a concert soloist. She was also a highly skilled piano player. As if that wasn’t enough, she had a knack for languages. She lived to be only 43 years old, but by the end of her brief life, she had taken to learning many modern languages, as well as biblical Greek and Hebrew.

After her death, her sister Maria preserved and compiled her notes and experiences in Memorials of Frances Ridley Havergal. In this work, we see an excerpt in Havergal’s own words about the origin of this very hymn:

I went for a little visit of five days. There were ten persons in the house, some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians. He gave me the prayer, “Lord, give me all in this house!” And He just did! Before I left the house, every one had got a blessing. The last night of my visit I was too happy to sleep, and passed most of the night in praise and renewal of my own consecration, and these little couplets formed themselves and chimed in my heart one after another, till they finished with, “Ever, ONLY, ALL for Thee!” (pp. 132–133).

Frances Havergal was not shy about giving her whole life to the work of Christ, and so strongly desired that same liberating devotion for every single person she would encounter.

Devotion

I love the way that Frances recounts her experience of ministering to her friends. She refers to one group of them as “converted but not rejoicing” which is a beautiful way to express something we see often today. I think that describes many Christians. There may be fleeting moments of happiness in our lives, but where is our joy in the Lord?

The problem stems from the fact that we all believe we are the main character of the story. In our minds, it’s all about us, whether overtly or not. When life goes our way, we thank God for orchestrating everything to fall in line just so. When we face obstacles, on the other hand, thankfulness and rejoicing are far from our minds.

Obviously, there will be no shortage of turmoil and strife as long as sin is still in the world. That means that until Jesus returns in glory, there will be hardship. There will be challenges. We will experience grief and heartache. But when our joy is in the Lord, we can weather those storms through His hope and strength. That’s a beautiful thing. How do we get there?

We devote ourselves entirely to Him. It’s all about Him. We must realize that we are not the main character in our story. He is. Everything in all of creation is all about God’s glory. You may have heard that old cliche, that history is “His story”, and it’s true. When we shift our perspective to the right mentality that puts Him at the center, we find that our joy is more persistent. Our hope is more enduring. When He is the foundation, we can’t be shaken. When was the last time you truly cried out to the Lord and asked Him to take all of you and let it be used for His kingdom's purpose?

It doesn’t stop there, either. When we have tasted that enduring joy and freedom, there is a next step. As we share our life with others like friends, family, coworkers, and more, do we see the joy in their life? Do we see eternal hope bursting forth from them? If not, we should have a deep desire for them to experience what we have.

Submit everything that you are and everything that you have to the Lord today, and He will renew your perspective and your priorities in ways that you can’t imagine.

Related Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-9; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Take My Life and Let It Be lyrics

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Let them flow in ceaseless praise

Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love,
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
Always, only, for my King,
Take my lips, and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee.

Take my will, and make it Thine;
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart; it is Thy own;
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love; my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Take My Life and Let It Be Lyric Video

What to know about Take My Life and Let It Be:

• Who wrote “Take My Life and Let It Be”?

  • “Take My Life and Let It Be” was written by Frances Ridley Havergal, the daughter of a Church of England minister.

• When was “Take My Life and Let It Be” written?

  • “Take My Life and Let It Be” was published in 1874 by Frances Ridley Havergal.

• What is “Take My Life and Let It Be” about?

  • “Take My Life and Let It Be” is about giving your life over to the Lord in every single way, and finding freedom and joy in boundless devotion to God.