As we continue through to the end of summer, I am continuing our Summer Format, which opens with a three minute recorded synopsis of my favorite Oswald Chambers devotions, followed by the written devotion itself.
I encourage you to listen to the 3 minute talk and then read the 3 minute devotion.
Over the years these devotions have greatly informed and boosted my relationship with Jesus, as well as at times challenged me, comforted me, and encouraged me.
Published with permission from Utmost.org
“…and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.”…But they understood none of these things… —Luke 18:31, 34
This bewildering call of God comes into our lives as well. The call of God can never be understood absolutely or explained externally; it is a call that can only be perceived and understood internally by our true inner-nature. The call of God is like the call of the sea— no one hears it except the person who has the nature of the sea in him. What God calls us to cannot be definitely stated, because His call is simply to be His friend to accomplish His own purposes. Our real test is in truly believing that God knows what He desires. The things that happen do not happen by chance— they happen entirely by the decree of God. God is sovereignly working out His own purposes.
If we are in fellowship and oneness with God and recognize that He is taking us into His purposes, then we will no longer strive to find out what His purposes are. As we grow in the Christian life, it becomes simpler to us, because we are less inclined to say, “I wonder why God allowed this or that?” And we begin to see that the compelling purpose of God lies behind everything in life, and that God is divinely shaping us into oneness with that purpose. A Christian is someone who trusts in the knowledge and the wisdom of God, not in his own abilities. If we have a purpose of our own, it destroys the simplicity and the calm, relaxed pace which should be characteristic of the children of God.
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