“My Utmost for His Highest”
Biddy eventually published the work that her husband became most associated with - she gave it a title based on his own words. He said "We have to realise that no effort can be too high... It must be my utmost for His highest all the time."
What a great sentence! My utmost for His highest. We are meant to strive for God's glory. Now I know that straight away some people will be saying "no no, we can't strive to earn God's love, it is a gift freely given!" I agree completely. We can't strive and try our utmost for salvation. Certainly not. God grants us salvation as a gift, and we don't have to do any religious works to get this gift. We just receive it, by faith, and it is ours.
Striving After Salvation
But this doesn't mean that we don't, subsequently, strive to live a life that honours God, since He has already saved us. In fact, Paul - the very same Paul who taught so often that salvation is a gift and not something to be earned - said this in Acts 24: "I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man." (Acts 24:16). He also said "always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." (1 Thessalonians 5:15), and he said to Timothy "we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God" (1 Timothy 4:10).
Or what about the writer to the Hebrews who said "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14)
Giving Our Utmost for His Highest
A question for us today: are we 'making every effort', are we 'striving', are we giving 'our utmost', in our Christian lives? Or are we slack and unbothered by God's call to live holy and honourable lives?
Remember, Chambers said that it must be 'my utmost for His highest'. So we should be striving that God's glory be shown in us, striving for God to be seen as the highest motive and love in our lives.
This passion for God's glory, and this effort to live it out, defined the life of Oswald Chambers. What a difference he made in so many lives.
I pray that you and I truly give our utmost for God's highest in everything we do. Then we will surely hear the words of God saying "well done, good and faithful servant", when we meet Him one day.
Jesus demonstrated that sometimes silent dignity speaks louder than words, especially when facing opposition or accusation. Learn when to respond with majestic silence rather than defending yourself with endless words.