With Him First, For Others Always

Pressure releases what was already there, His life shared through you

Devotional Credit, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit, Unsplash

Some seasons make us measure our lives by output. Oswald Chambers invites us to start somewhere truer, with Jesus Himself. He reminds us that answering God’s call is not signing up for endless tasks, it is being set apart in the Son so that His life flows through us for the sake of others. The shift is not from action to inaction. It is from self-managed effort to the life of abiding in Christ.

Chambers uses the picture of bread and wine to say that love often costs us. Yet the cost is not payment for sin, Jesus finished that. Any affliction we carry is participation in His ministry to His people. In other words, our hardships are not random. Within the Father’s care, they become places where the Spirit expresses the character of Jesus through us for the good of the body.

This aligns with Paul’s words in Colossians. He rejoiced that his sufferings served the church. He was not adding to the cross. He was carrying the message and love of Jesus into real trouble and real need. That is the commission behind every call, be with the Lord, then be poured out for others in union with Him.

Thank you, Oswald Chambers, for pressing this home. The call of God does not begin with our fitness. It begins with Jesus, who lives in us by the Spirit. As we yield to Him, He turns ordinary pressure into places where His life is shared.

Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

I set you apart in My Son, and I call you to share His life for the sake of His body. Your trials are not payments for sin, they are places where the life of Jesus meets need through you. I comfort you so that you carry My comfort to others. I place My treasure in jars of clay so that the surpassing power is Mine, not yours. The death of Jesus is at work in you, and His life is made plain in your mortal body.

I have blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ. I have granted what you need for life and godliness. I work in you to will and to do My good pleasure. Present yourself to Me, count yourself alive to Me in Jesus, and I will make His life active in your words, your endurance, and your kindness. As you remain in Him and His words remain in you, you bear fruit that lasts.

I form you within a people. For their sake you labor with the energy I powerfully work within you. I complete what I begin. I am faithful, and I will do it. When suffering comes, do not be surprised. Share the sufferings of the Messiah and rejoice that His glory will be revealed. Trials produce endurance, tested character, and hope that does not disappoint, because My love has been poured into your heart.

Fix your gaze on Jesus. I conform you to His image from glory to glory. The peaceable fruit of righteousness grows as I train you. You are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that I prepared beforehand. In every place I lead you, I make you a fragrance of the knowledge of Him.

Real-Life Analogy

Think of a manual citrus press on a kitchen counter. You set half a lemon in the cradle, lower the handle, and juice flows. The pressure does not create the juice. It simply releases what was already inside. Daily pressures can work like that. On your own, the squeeze only drains you. With the indwelling Spirit of Jesus, the same moments release what He has already placed within, patience, courage, and quiet love.

A simple example, you are heading into a difficult meeting at work. Before you step through the door, you turn toward the Lord within and say, Lord, I trust You to carry Your wisdom and gentleness through me in this conversation, guide my tone and my timing. Then you proceed. You stay honest. You refuse to push for control. What comes out is not manufactured. It is Him.

Prayer of Confidence

Father, thank You for calling me into union with Jesus. Thank You that His finished work is complete, and that any suffering I face can serve Your people. You have already given me everything needed for life and godliness. Today I present myself to You, counting myself alive to You in Jesus. I rejoice that Your Spirit is at work within me, expressing His life in my labor, my listening, and my love. You are faithful. You will complete what You began.

Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section

Colossians 1:24; 2 Corinthians 1:3-5; 2 Corinthians 4:7-11; Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3-4; Philippians 2:13; Romans 6:11-13; John 15:4-5; Colossians 1:27-29; Philippians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:24; 1 Peter 4:12-13; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 12:11; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 2:14-15