Another Lesson from Oswald

Lessons from My Utmost for His Highest last night....

Huh.  Further proof that this stressing till my hair falls out probably isn't healthy :)  Life, jobs, friendships/relationships, why do I stress myself to max?  By worrying about it, I'm usually letting myself make rash decisions to "get myself out ASAP" and avoid any and all uncomfortable places.  I'm not a fan of the process.  I want results now and I want it to be comfortable the whole way.  Unrealistic? Of course, however, I'm an idealist, not a realist, this will always be a hard point. Idealist?  I tell myself I'm not a worrier, I'm an analyzer.  There's a very fine line between analyzing and worrying and lately I'm finding myself on the wrong side. I'm overanalyzing every little possibility of failure and finding so many possibilities to crash and burn it is inhibiting the ability to trust that it WILL be okay because not only do I not control the universe and I don't have to!  By allowing myself to fret, worry and bury myself in endless possibilities of what-ifs, I jump to decisions and make choices that I may easily regret later.  Does that mean God says, "O shoot, you screwed yourself over, that was OBVIOUSLY not the direction I had planned for you, stinks to be you, see ya later!?"  Nope. However, the promise to never leave me or forsake me is also not a guarantee that no matter what I do it will all be smooth sailing.  There are consequences for everything, for every decision I make, either good or bad, but through it all He's there pushing me on toward the prize, the end, His glory.  

"One of God's Great Don'ts"

Do not fret— it only causes harm —Psalm 37:8

Fretting means getting ourselves “out of joint” mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say, “Do not fret,” but something very different to have such a nature that you find yourself unable to fret. It’s easy to say, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7) until our own little world is turned upside down and we are forced to live in confusion and agony like so many other people. Is it possible to “rest in the Lord” then? If this “Do not” doesn’t work there, then it will not work anywhere. This “Do not” must work during our days of difficulty and uncertainty, as well as our peaceful days, or it will never work. And if it will not work in your particular case, it will not work for anyone else. Resting in the Lord is not dependent on your external circumstances at all, but on your relationship with God Himself.

Worrying always results in sin. We tend to think that a little anxiety and worry are simply an indication of how wise we really are, yet it is actually a much better indication of just how wicked we are. Fretting rises from our determination to have our own way. Our Lord never worried and was never anxious, because His purpose was never to accomplish His own plans but to fulfill God’s plans. Fretting is wickedness for a child of God.

Have you been propping up that foolish soul of yours with the idea that your circumstances are too much for God to handle? Set all your opinions and speculations aside and “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1). Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about whatever concerns you. All our fretting and worrying is caused by planning without God.

Always Wondering...

...Am I doing it right?  Interceding and lifting those up who are around me is a constant, but it is so easy to fall back and say, "This is such a difficult time for them, I'll just pray it away."  It is easy to forget the prunings, the firings, the testings of life are what God uses to mold us into who he'd have us be or to draw us unto himself.   This devo on May 3rd kind of drove that home for me and has been running through the back of my mind ever since.  Am I interceding because I truly want them have connection with God or is it because my sympathies and emotions are aroused and I want everything to smooth out and go easier for them?  These are tough questions for me.

Vital Intercession - Oswald Chambers 

“…praying always with prayer and supplication in the Spirit…”  Ephesians 6:18

As we continue on in our intercession for others, we may find that our obedience to God in interceding is going to cost those for whom we intercede more than we ever thought.  The danger in this is that we begin to intercede in sympathy with those whom God was gradually lifting up to a totally different level in close identification with God’s interest and concern for others and step into having emotional sympathy with them, the vital connection with God is gone.  We have then put our sympathy and concern for them in the way.  And this is a deliberate rebuke to God.

It is impossible for us to have living and vital intercession unless we are perfectly and completely sure of God.  And the greatest destroyer of that confident relationship to God, so necessary for intercession, is our own personal sympathy and preconceived bias.  Identification with God is the key to intercession and whenever we stop being identified with Him it is not likely that sin will interfere with our intercessory relationship with Goy, but sympathy will.  It is sympathy with ourselves or with others that makes us say, “I will not allow that thing to happen.”  And instantly we are out of that vital connection with God.

Vital intercession leaves you with neither the time nor the inclination to pray for your own “sad and pitiful self.” You do not have to struggle to keep thoughts of yourself out, because they are not even there to be kept out of your thinking.  You are completely and entirely identified with God’s interests and concerns in others lives.  God gives us discernment in the lives of others to call us to intercession for them, never so that we may find fault with them.  

The Unknown

I can only imagine, it must seem that all I do is spend my days reading Oswald Chambers!  LOL Honestly, I don't, but when I do read his work I am always struck by the depth and truth in his point of view.  His explorations and teachings have greatly impacted my life.

I'm hanging by a thread, I don't know what the next move in my life is.  All I know is that when I let go, it will be a free fall to God knows where.  I don't like not being able to see around the corner, to see what's coming next.  I don't like it at all, not one teensy bit.  I should be excited for what may be coming, because in the long run, it can only be good for me, that much was promised a long time ago.

From My Utmost for His Highest: 

Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing... Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.  To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth.  This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation. 

Thank You, Oswald

I love reminders.  Not the nagging kind; I like the Post-It note style reminders, the ones that jog a knowledge or stirring of something you intended to act upon but yet again failed to execute.  I am continually humbled by the realization that I am a ridiculously slow learner and that I have an immeasurably patient God.  For that, I am am thankful.

January 18th's "My Utmost for His Highest" lesson, Taught by God and Shared by Oswald Chambers


"Test of Faithfulness"


"We know that all things work together for good to those who love God." -Romans 8:28


"It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances.  We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it.  We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people.  To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith--the Lord Jesus Christ.  God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation.  We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life.  This is where the test of our faithfulness comes.  If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses. 


Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today.  We will be faithful to our work, to serving others or to anything else; just don't ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ.  Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus.  Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world.  We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers. 


The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that he will be free to do His work through us.  God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us.  He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part.  God wants to use us as He used His own Son."


This was my devo time last night before I went to bed, what a way to end the day.  It followed perfectly with all that we were learning/discussing in our small group.  Everything hinges on our faith.  We just have faith and be faithful to Christ in order for EVERYTHING else to work.  Yet, that faithfulness is SOOOO difficult sometimes.  I can MEASURE how faithful I being to my work by the physical, visible things I see around me.  I can MEASURE how faithful I am to serving others by their response and the fuzzy feeling on the inside.  How do you measure a faithfulness to Jesus?  Sure there are fruits, and knowledge is gained and I can "see" the spiritual things he is doing sometimes, but so much of the time that faith is wholly in the unseen.  Sigh.   Still learning faithfulness.  Yes, I still need lots of sticky-note reminders and so much patience.   I want this faithfulness that Oswald is talking about.  It may be years of growth ahead....but the seed must be planted somewhere.