Today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers has a very important message for every born again believer!
The Supreme Climb
Take now thy son… — Genesis 22:2
God’s command is— Take now, not presently. It is
extraordinary how we debate! We know a thing is right, but we try to find
excuses for not doing it at once. To climb to the height God shows can never be
done presently, it must be done now. The sacrifice is gone through in will before
it is performed actually.
“And Abraham rose up early in the morning,…and went unto the
place of which God had told him” (verse 3). The wonderful simplicity of Abraham!
When God spoke, he did not confer with flesh and blood. Beware when you want to
confer with flesh and blood, i.e., your own sympathies, your own insight,
anything that is not based on your personal relationship to God. These are the
things that compete with and hinder obedience to God.
Abraham did not choose the sacrifice. Always guard against
self-chosen service for God; self-sacrifice may be a disease. If God has made
your cup sweet, drink it with grace; if He has made it bitter, drink it in
communion with Him. If the providential order of God for you is a hard time of
difficulty, go through with it, but never choose the scene of your martyrdom.
God chose the crucible for Abraham, and Abraham made no demur; he went steadily
through. If you are not living in touch with Him, it is easy to pass a crude
verdict on God. You must go through the crucible before you have any right to
pronounce a verdict, because in the crucible you learn to know God better. God
is working for His highest ends until His purpose and man’s purpose become one.
I have to admit to having done this in the past! I have known some things that God wanted me to do, but I saw no way of doing them on my own. Instead of immediately setting myself in obedience to Holy Spirit as He led me to begin to pray AT our church (The Spoken Word Church), FOR our church, AND others in our area, I first spoke to others to see if anyone else was also being led to do this so that we could join forces together. At that moment, THAT was NOT God's plan! Finally, when no one showed any interest or inclination at all, I could do nothing BUT be obedient. I received permission from our Pastor and began to pray from 6am-7am every morning! I felt such a peace in being obedient in this and had such a sense of the Father's delight in my obedience that I felt bad for not moving immediately! It really had only been a couple of days of indecision, but even a short time out of the will of God is WAY TOO LONG! And then another amazing thing happened! When I was willing to do this alone, several people in the congregation began to receive their own instruction from the Lord to do the same! So, when Holy Spirit speaks to you, be immediate in your obedience and allow Him to work in you and others! The blessings of this attitude are overwhelming! Yes, we are ALL called, but we are all called uniquely and individually, even to do things together! AMEN! Here is one of my new favorite praise songs from Hillsong Kids called "Made In Your Image":
Shalom in Him!
