Our Plans

Beethoven by Oswald Chambers

Proverbs 16:9, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

This came from an Oswald Chambers Facebook post. Oswald Chambers is one of my favorite Christian preachers/writers from the past. The post said, “Oswald Chambers originally wanted to be an artist. (This) is a charcoal sketch he did of Ludwig Von Beethoven. How different things would have been if he followed his own man-made plans!”

                    

The apostle Paul penned two thirds of the New Testament from a prison cell. I have often wondered if Paul would have needed to be imprisoned if he had been writing all along, rather than relying on a visit and the spoken word.

For me this is so encouraging. That we can plan, and yet God will order the steps, God will cause all things to work together for good. Oswald Chambers died in 1917, and his writings are still read to this day by thousands. I wonder aloud if my writing will be read 100 years from now.

Funny… I thought I would be preaching, and doing so many completely different things with my life. This is so much more satisfying… to make plans, but be open to the relationship with Christ that determines my steps. Lead on Jesus… lead on.  

After Surrender

John 17:4, "I glorify you on the earth, having accomplished the work You gave Me to do."

It was never my intent with this blog to have post that belong to someone else in their entirety. But I read this today for the first time and thought, WOW this is the exact spiritual path that I have been on. Remember the theme of this blog is "Shameless surrender in hopes that we might know Christ more." And today Oswald Chambers laid out this path of surrender in perfect detail. Enjoy!

"True surrender is not simply surrender of our external life but surrender of our will— and once that is done, surrender is complete. The greatest crisis we ever face is the surrender of our will. Yet God never forces a person’s will into surrender, and He never begs. He patiently waits until that person willingly yields to Him. And once that battle has been fought, it never needs to be fought again.

Surrender for Deliverance. “Come to Me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). It is only after we have begun to experience what salvation really means that we surrender our will to Jesus for rest. Whatever is causing us a sense of uncertainty is actually a call to our will— “Come to Me.” And it is a voluntary coming.

Surrender for Devotion. “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself . . . ” (Matthew 16:24). The surrender here is of my selfto Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, “If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.” And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you. Whatever your circumstances may be, Jesus is totally sufficient (see 2 Corinthians 12:9 and (Philippians 4:19).

Surrender for Death. “. . . another will gird you . . .” (John 21:18 ; also see John21:19). Have you learned what it means to be girded for death? Beware of some surrender that you make to God in an ecstatic moment in your life, because you are apt to take it back again. True surrender is a matter of being “united together [with Jesus] in the likeness of His death” (Romans 6:5) until nothing ever appeals to you that did not appeal to Him.

And after you surrender— then what? Your entire life should be characterized by an eagerness to maintain unbroken fellowship and oneness with God."