Rejoice In Relationship, Not Results
Setting the heart on Jesus is like setting a thermostat, relationship sets the climate and the results follow.
Devotional Credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash
The disciples returned from their first mission thrilled about what had happened through them. Jesus gently redirected their joy to something deeper, that their names are written in heaven. Oswald Chambers helps us see the wisdom in that correction. Results are not the center. Relationship is. When we root our joy in outcomes, our hearts ride a roller coaster. When we rest our joy in Jesus, who knows us and has made us His own, our center holds steady.
Chambers warns that the snare in ministry is to measure our lives by usefulness. We often tally what we did, what we built, or what we can see. Yet the Lord’s emphasis is not on what we do for Him, but on what He does through us as we abide in Him. Jesus promised rivers of living water would flow from within the believer. Those rivers are His life expressed, not our own effort dressed in religious clothes.
He goes on to say that once we are rightly related to God through salvation and sanctification, we can rest in where He places us. We do not need a platform to be faithful. We need fellowship. As we walk in the light, the life of Jesus reacts through us in each circumstance. That is quiet freedom. It frees us from counting, comparing, or chasing applause, and draws us back to the simple center of staying in step with Him.
Thank you, Oswald Chambers, for inviting us to shift our focus from numbers and narratives to the living union we share with Jesus. In that union, outcomes become His territory. Our joy is secure because our names are written in heaven, and the Lord of the harvest knows exactly how to work through His people.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, rejoice first in this, that you belong to Me. Your name is written in heaven. Let your heart rest in who you are to Me before you ever think about what you do for Me. I have placed you in My Son. You are seated with Him. You share His life. Walk in the light, and the life of Jesus will be seen in you.
Do not measure yourself by usefulness. Abide in Me. Apart from Me you can do nothing, but in Me fruit comes in its season. I work in you to will and to do according to My good pleasure. I formed you as My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that I prepared beforehand. As you trust Me, rivers of living water will flow from within, and I will often keep you from knowing the measure of it, so your joy stays in Me.
When circumstances shift, remember that you are not alone. Christ in you is your hope of glory. You have every spiritual blessing in Him. My Spirit has placed you in the body and leads you as a son and daughter. There is no condemnation for you in Christ Jesus. Stand fast in your union, and let gratitude be the song of your heart. I complete what I begin. I am faithful.
Scripture References: Luke 10:20; John 7:38; 1 John 1:7; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 2:10; John 15:5; Philippians 2:13; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4; Colossians 1:27; Ephesians 1:3; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:14; Philippians 1:6; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:5.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a home thermostat. A thermostat does not heat the house by itself. It stays connected, set to the desired temperature, while the system supplies what is needed. When the thermostat is rightly set, warmth fills the rooms without fuss. Relationship is like that. Set your heart on Jesus, stay connected, and the Holy Spirit supplies what you cannot manufacture.
A simple practice for today, before a tough meeting or a demanding task, pause and whisper, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this moment.” Yield your tone, your timing, and your choices to Him. Let Him set the climate within, and watch how His peace and wisdom express themselves in real time.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that my joy is anchored in Your knowing of me, not in what I produce. My name is written in heaven, and I rest in that gift. In Jesus I have every spiritual blessing. You are at work in me to will and to do according to Your good pleasure. I rejoice that fruit flows from abiding, not striving. Today I trust You to express Your life through me, and I am grateful that the outcome belongs to You.