Has a hymn ever resonated with your heart and mind? The hymn may have been written many years ago, even before the birth of your great-grandparents. Still, it somehow captivated your heart today as you followed each word. I’ll be honest. I’ve shed tears, singing hymns that seemed uniquely composed for current events in my life. Though the hymns I’ve connected with were published longer ago than my familiarity, it was rooted in a consistent power: God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrew 13:8). The devotional My Utmost for His Highest is like a timeless hymn, still speaking to people generations later.
Never going out of print since it first hit shelves, My Utmost for His Highest gives the words of a man humbly living out his life full out for Christ. Every year, it leads more and more hearts to hunger for a life in full honor and attention to God.
Who Wrote My Utmost for His Highest?
Writer, evangelist, and teacher Oswald Chambers wrote My Utmost for His Highest. Backed by his personal experience, Chambers knew firsthand the power and calling to live relentlessly for Christ. No man is perfect, but Chambers certainly lived a life painted with the image of God.
Oswald Chambers was born into a Christian home on July 24, 1874, the youngest son to a Baptist minister in Aberdeen, Scotland. At age 15, Oswald decided to follow Christ after hearing Charles Spurgeon preach a sermon, and he asked Jesus into his heart. Throughout his teens, Chambers took steps to tell others about the gospel but didn’t necessarily feel called to full-time ministry. When he reached his twenties, he studied the arts at the National Art Training school in London. Then, he felt God calling his heart to a new plan and committed himself to the ministry.
In 1901, Oswald began preaching. He partnered with other ministers like Juji Nakada and Charles Cowman for international gospel projects in the United States and Japan. In 1910, he married Gertrude Hobbs, who he called “Biddy.” He became an author in 1912 when he published his first book, Biblical Psychology. A year later, Chambers became a father when his daughter was born. A few years later, Chambers packed up his family and moved to Egypt to serve as a YMCA ministry chaplain for British troops during WW1 in 1915. Throughout his service there, Chambers connected with the soldiers in a way that drew them in, gaining their attention to hear what God had to say about their lives and purpose.
Chambers grew ill with appendicitis and died from a complication on November 15, 1917. After his passing, Biddy served a pivotal role in how his unpublished words would lead many hearts to God.
When Was My Utmost for His Highest Published?
Biddy published the first edition of My Utmost for His Highest in Britain in 1924, with no idea the effect it would have. The book was first published in the United States in 1934 and has never gone out of print. It has been made into an updated edition in contemporary language, a 90-day devotional, and an edition with journaling notes. It’s even inspired an album of the same name.
When Chambers was living, his wife would take thorough notes while he was teaching at Bible Training College and preaching to soldiers at the YMCA in Egypt. When Chambers passed away, she gathered together the notes and published several books from his ideas. My Utmost for His Highest was the first and best-known of these books.
Even though it’s been a little over a century since Chambers’ death, My Utmost for His Highest carries teachings that transcend the period. This devotional has been translated into over 30 languages and sits by the bedside of believers all around the globe.
What Are Some Great Lessons from My Utmost for His Highest?
Oswald Chambers’ relationship with God God radiates off each page of this book and offers lessons we all can adopt in our walk with Christ. Here are three great lessons from My Utmost for His Highest.
1. Focus on God – Who wants to have a conversation with someone constantly giving their attention to something else? There’s not much of an intimate connection when this happens. Chambers clarifies that our entire being should be focused on God, especially when praying. When talking with God, we don’t always give him our undivided attention; instead, we give it to our problems. What do we think of God compared to our problems? God is way bigger than anything we might have our minds occupied with. Therefore let’s give him our entire focus.
2. Give Thanks in Everything. Life can be hard. Sometimes it feels like we’re treading alone on a tough journey. The truth is God is always with us no matter what our surroundings look or feel like. We may not know what the plan is. We may not know where we’re going. We do know God’s plans are good, and He has the best in mind for our lives. Chambers encourages readers to give thanks to God in all things.
3. Boldly Go to God, Bearing Your Humanity. Chambers often describes how he is simply a human needing God’s grace and guidance as he surrenders all he has to God. Expecting to do everything right and knowing everything perfectly is impossible. Eventually, we all lose our way. We are all simply humans, filled with error. But Chambers conveys to his audience that we can bring our lostness to Christ in complete surrender for His guidance in light and good direction.
10 Great Quotes from My Utmost for His Highest
1. “Everything that God has created is like an orchestra praising Him.”
2. “Listen to God, not to the selfish voice of ‘flesh and blood.’”
3. “Worship is giving God the bet that He has given you.”
4. “God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.”
5. “Get into the habit of saying, ‘Speak, Lord,’ and life will become a romance.”
6. “Never look for justice in this world, never cease to give it.”
7. “Give thanks to God that He is there, no matter what is happening.”
8. “Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One who is leading.”
9. “We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.”
10. “Yet sin did not keep Him from graciously revealing Himself in communion with humanity.”
What Else Did Oswald Chambers Write?
Though My Utmost for His Highest is Oswald Chambers’ most popular publication, it is not his only writing project. Chambers has written several books, impacting the lives of many. Here is a list of other books from Oswald Chambers, including various anthologies.
1. Studies in The Sermon on the Mount
4. The Complete Work of Oswald Chambers
5. Devotions for a Deeper Life
6. Biblical Psychology: Christ-Centered
8. Devotions for the Morning and Evening
9. Oswald Chambers: The Best from All
10. A New Testament Walk with Oswald Chambers
11. Daily Thoughts for Disciples
14. In the Presence of His Majesty
15. The Quotable Oswald Chambers
19. Joy & Peace: A Holy Condition
This may look like a comprehensive list, but it isn’t everything Chambers wrote. From his famous to his little-known books, I’m grateful for his work spreading the good news of who Christ is.
Further Reading:
10 Things You Need to Know about Oswald Chambers
50 Inspirational Oswald Chambers Quotes
10 Things You Never Knew about Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Fang-Wei Lin
Ashford Sonii is a lover of Jesus, husband, and father. Ashford enjoys ministry, learning, and communicating practical life applications of God’s Word within marriage, family, and how to walk with Jesus. He and his wife Olivia currently live in North Carolina with their twin girls, Ivey and Oakley.
