My Utmost for His Highest. “. . . my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed . . . .” We will all feel very much ashamed if we do not yield to Jesus the areas of our lives He has asked us to yield to Him. It’s as if Paul were saying, “My determined purpose is to be my utmost for His highest— my best for His glory.” To reach that level of determination is a matter of the will, not of debate or of reasoning. It is absolute and irrevocable surrender of the will at that point.
And like the gift of conviction, make no mistake this level of determination is also a gift of God provided us by the Holy Spirit of God. JDV
An undue amount of thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point— He does know.
And when we are connected we know as well, this obedience will mean peace and harmony within. We cannot avoid the call of the Spirit and have true peace ahdn happiness. JDV
Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.
Our determination means nothing. It is false hope, just like a New Year’s resolution we know we will break in days, weeks or months. Real determination comes from the Spirit of God as we surrender and stay connected to Him. JDV
My Unstoppable Determination for His Holiness.
Our determination is only unstoppable when it is the Spirit of God and the person of Jesus living inside of us that offers up the determination. JDV
“Whether it means life or death-it makes no difference!” (see Philippians 1:21). Paul was determined that nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted. But before we choose to follow God’s will, a crisis must develop in our lives. This happens because we tend to be unresponsive to God’s gentler nudges.
We can hear the more gentle “nudges” when we are connected to God. And if we can hear and respond to these gentle “nudges” then we may avoid the impending crisis that will surely arrive when we are unresponsive to God’s earlier nudges. JDV
He brings us to the place where He asks us to be our utmost for Him and we begin to debate. He then providentially produces a crisis where we have to decide— for or against. That moment becomes a great crossroads in our lives. If a crisis has come to you on any front, surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.
As DJR has said, “We come to Him out of need and stay connected out of love”…JDV
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