SHORT LIFE, ENDURING MESSAGE

I can't recall when I got my first copy of the classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest.” I only know that from early adulthood it was among the books that challenged and help grow my faith-walk. Only recently, learning the story of its author, I am even more grateful that it came to be.

The book's author is listed as Oswald Chambers, a British evangelist and missionary who ended up in Egypt, where he ministered to British soldiers, dying of appendicitis in 1917, only 43 years old. By one report, he refused medical intervention for his agonizing condition, saying the wounded soldiers needed the doctors more than he did.

Though the book carries his name as author, the real credit goes to his wife “Biddy” (her nickname for “Gertrude”), a skilled stenographer. As a single woman, she'd committed herself to excellence in that business skill, hoping it might come to the attention of England's prime minister. But before that might have happened, she met and married Britisher and evangelist Oswald Chambers. She'd follow him in his missionary endeavors, finally ending up in Egypt where World War I battles raged between the British and Ottoman Empire. He served the troops as a chaplain, speaking at the soldiers' chapels. Quietly, in the audience, sat Biddy, taking meticulous notes in shorthand.

Seven years after their marriage, Chambers died—reportedly of appendicitis for which he refused treatment, saying the injured soldiers needed medical help more. Biddy would spend the next 35 years raising their daughter (their only child) and transcribing Oswald's shorthand-saved devotional messages into books. She refused personal name recognition for her work, with only his name listed as author.

First published posthumously in the United Kingdom in 1927, and in the United States in 1934, it has reportedly sold more than 13 million copies. All that—ironically--because a little-known woman who knew shorthand carried forth the skill to bring glory to God. In other words, to live out in her unique (yet God-planned) circumstance, the scriptural admonition to “train yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7).

Breath mints or meat?

Thirsty for God as the new year opens? Maybe you feel like the parched deer in the opening phrases of Psalm 63: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?”

The answer, of course, is anywhere the Word of God can reach your heart deeply. Americans are blessed with an abundance of helps to study and apply the Bible. But we’re also plagued with spiritual apathy and impatience. We’re prone to want the quick fix, the minute (or less) devotional, a spiritual “tweet,” as it were. We want a spiritual breath mint in the morning (or evening) rather than something meaty we need to chew on.

For those just starting their life with Christ—or exploring Christianity—those quickie devotional guides are helpful. A quick quoted verse, maybe 200 words of story or discussion, and something of scripture touches you life in about a minute. But a minute is also pronounced mine-OOT, as in “small.”

But if you’ve come to the point of wanting more, of looking over the shoulders of saints who’ve thought and prayed deeply, may I make some suggestions?

Streams in the Desert (two volumes) and Springs in the Valley by Mrs. Charles Cowman. Since the first publication in 1925, this has become one of the best-selling devotionals of all time. Combining her writings and others’ meditations, poems, hymns and stories, its overriding theme is discovering hope and God's higher purposes through suffering. If you are going through difficult places, you will resonate with many of the daily entries. Lettie Cowman and her husband Charles helped form the Oriental Missionary Society in the early 1900s during their work in Japan and China. His poor health forced their return to the United States in 1917, and he died six years later. Her experiences and heartbreaks form the backdrop of her selections. She died at age 90 in 1960.

My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers (copyright 1935). Born in Scotland in 1874, and a gifted artist and musician, Chambers sensed God calling him to the ministry during college. Eventually he came to the United States, teaching six months at a Cincinnati, Ohio, Bible school. Then he went to Japan, visiting the Tokyo Bible School founded by the Cowmans (see above). His world travels marked a transition to fulltime work with the Pentecostal League of Prayer. He was serving as a YMCA chaplain to British Commonwealth soldiers in Egypt, 1915-1917, when he died of complications from an appendectomy. His wife, an incredible note-taking help-meet, compiled his writings into devotional books. When you read Chambers, prepare to be challenged to a more God-focused life and to identify subtle sins that stand in the way. A more recent collection of his writings is Devotions for a Deeper Life, edited by Glenn Black and published by Zondervan (1986).

What am I using this year? First Light: Morning Conversations with God by William S. Stoddard (Multnomah, 1990). Alas, this one is out of print, but available from used book dealers. Stoddard, a pastor who ended his career at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, has written a meaty volume of 181 sections that focus on going deeper in prayer. Instead of a quickie verse like “breath mint” devotionals, he sends you into lesser-read Old Testament passages and their complementary portions in the New. Then comes a discussion of the passages and a transparent prayer. So far, I have covered a fourth of the book, and I will admit to a deep—yes, weeping—reaction to some of the topics. God is doing a work in my life through this book.

There’s a smorgasbord of devotional literature available. Billy Graham’s classic Unto the Hills has encouraged and challenges millions. Another on my shelves (Near to the Heart of God) collects readings from spiritual classics, including the “church fathers” and others from the first thousand years after Christ.

Whatever you choose, don’t rush through the devotional without thoughtful time in the scripture it references. Go for meat, not a “breath mint.”