“You Are Not Your Own” from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Do you not know that
. . . you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19
There is no such thing as a private life, or a place to hide in
this world, for a man or woman who is intimately aware of and shares in the
sufferings of Jesus Christ. God divides the private life of His saints and
makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other. No
human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are
not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and
things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us
into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. If you refuse, you will be
of no value to God in His redemptive work in the world, but will be a hindrance
and a stumbling block.
The first thing God does is
get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for
ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the
purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through
those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us
collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose
and enter a slow death through self-pity. And all the so-called Christian
sympathy of others helps us to our deathbed. But God will not. He comes with
the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship
with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this
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