My Utmost for His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

Is My Sacrifice Living? “Abraham built an altar . . . ; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar.” Genesis 22:9 This event

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moral inspiration, but a vision does. People who are totally consumed with idealistic principles rarely do anything.

you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our

Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A

doubt?” (Matthew 14:31). Let your actual circumstances be what they may, but keep recognizing Jesus, maintaining complete reliance upon Him. If you debate for even one second when God has spoken, it is all over for you. Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately—totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything—by casting your all upon Him. You do not know when His voice will come to you, but whenever the realization of God comes, even in the faintest way imaginable, be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. You will only recognize His voice more clearly through recklessness—being willing to risk your all.

we are inclined to say that there is no point in even trying to continue. Instead of the vision becoming

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to Him He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve. But if you will allow Him to take you

“I take every project prisoner to make it obey Christ.” So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord’s life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father. There was never the slightest tendency to follow the impulse of His own will as distinct from His Father’s will—“the Son can do nothing of Himself ” (John 5:19). Then compare this with what we do—we take “every thought” or project that comes to us by impulse and jump into action immediately, instead of imprisoning and disciplining ourselves to obey Christ.

purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. Never put yourself in front of your circumstances and say, “I’m going to be my own providence here; I will watch this closely, or protect myself from that.” All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints. Am I making

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