The title of today’s post comes from the October 17th entry from the book, My Utmost for His Highest written by Oswald Chambers. I completely recommend this book if you don’t have it in your collection already. It’s incredible.
It’s a daily devotional comprised mostly from a series of lectures by Mr. Chambers at Bible Training College, Clapham from 1911-1915. It’s an inspired and in your face kind of book… and I refer to it often. Year after year. Admittedly, it can be quite tough to read. Not so much because Mr. Chambers is utterly brilliant and because I usually have to read and re-read~ but because it’s mostly a mirror into how shallow and immature my walk with Christ usually is. I am reminded to put away my selfish and immature pursuits. That it’s time to put aside the milk and yearn for the meat.
The bottom line of this book always comes back to Christ. Who He is. And, what He did for us. I am encouraged to respond by taking up my cross and following Him, without abandon and without selfishness.
Here’s yesterday’s entry.
Greater Works by Oswald Chambers
John 14:2
And greater works than these shall he do; because I go until My Father.
Prayer does not fit us for the greater works; prayer IS the greater work. We think of prayer as a common sense exercise of our higher powers in order to prepare us for God’s work. In the teaching of Jesus Christ, prayer is the working of the miracle of Redemption in me which produces the miracle of Redemption in others by the power of God. The way fruit remains is by prayer, but remember it is prayer based on the agony of Redemption, not on my agony. Only a child gets prayer answered; a wise man does not. Prayer is the battle; it is a matter of indifference where you are. Whichever way God engineers circumstances, the duty is to pray. Never allow the thought- I am of no use where I am; because you certainly can be of no use where you are not. Wherever God has dumped you down in circumstances pray, ejaculate to Him all the time. Whatsoever ye ask in My name, that will I do.” We won’t pray unless we get thrills, that is the intensest form of spiritual selfishness. We have to labor along the line of God’s direction, and He says pray. “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.”
There is nothing thrilling about a laboring man’s work, but it is the labouring man who makes the conceptions of the genius possible; and it is the laboring saint who makes the conceptions of his Master possible. You labor at prayer and results happen all the time from His standpoint. What an astonishment it will be to find, when the veil is lifted, the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you had been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ.
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Go ahead. Re-read. I always have to.
One thing I am learning that is finally making it from my head to my heart, is that I have no time to waste on self-pitying and complaining. There is nothing to be gained. God can’t work with me when I am in this state of mind and therefore… it does nothing for another’s soul and does nothing to help me in my relationship with Him. How do we do all things without complaining? It is a choice. We must choose to not be dependent on our circumstances. When you consider all that is not to be gained by complaining to all that is gained by not complaining… it’s a simple choice isn’t it? Let’s pray for each other. That we can rejoice and be glad, right where we are!!!
Peace friends!
Heidi
