Let Us Keep to the Point

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death."- Philippians 1:20

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed..." We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It's as if Paul were saying, "My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest-my best for His glory." To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point. An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn't know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point- He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only- my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.

"Whether it means life or death- it makes no difference!" (see 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God's will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God's gentler nudges. He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide- for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives.

If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.

-My Utmost for His Highest,
Oswald Chambers 1935

The emboldened stuff is what I underlined in my copy of this book. What a great devotional. I recommend the special updated version edited by James Reimann.

Today, I had to release my will to Jesus. My will for this day and my future.

I resonated with the line near the bottom, "This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God's gentler nudges." Crisis can happen when we(or I) do not respond to the Spirit's leading. Not that I don't see/feel/recognize it, I just don't do anything about it. My prayer is that in relenting and releasing my will/desires for the day/my future God will do an incredible work within and through me. But there is that pesky matter of will and determination. This is something I can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit. I need help to produce my utmost. I want to do my best for His glory!