God First
Devotional Credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Today’s devotional by Oswald Chambers centers on the freeing reality that God alone is trustworthy in the absolute sense—and that trusting Him above all others liberates us from the crushing weight of human expectation. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, knew what was in mankind, yet never grew suspicious or disillusioned. His unwavering trust was placed in the Father, not in people's potential to be perfect. He knew that only the grace of God could do what no person ever could.
We often begin with good intentions: we want to meet needs, to serve, to bring hope. But if we leap into action driven by human urgency rather than resting in divine leading, we risk missing God’s deeper invitation: to first be rightly aligned with Him. Chambers reminds us that Jesus didn’t respond to every need—He responded to the Father’s will. We are not called to be rescuers, but dwellers in God’s presence who then go where He sends.
Even more intimately, God entrusts Himself to us—not in grandeur, but in the fragile form of an infant-like presence within. He desires a “Bethlehem” in us—a life made into a sacred space for Christ to be formed and revealed. Our greatest privilege is not to perform for Him, but to carry Him.
📖 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I have never asked you to trust people above Me. I know what is in man—fragile, fickle, flawed—and yet I came not to condemn, but to indwell. I am not surprised by others’ failings, and you don’t need to be either. Entrust yourself to Me. I am the Rock that never shifts beneath your feet.
Needs will always exist around you. But I did not draw you into Myself so that you would run ahead out of urgency. I drew you so that you would learn My voice. Needs do not determine your direction—My Spirit does. Even when I walked the earth, I turned away from demands when the Father said “wait.” I did not heal to impress or speak to satisfy—I moved only when the Father moved. And now I live in you to do the same.
You are not My servant in the old sense. You are My dwelling place, My beloved, My Bethlehem. I entrust My presence to you not because you are perfect, but because you are Mine. I will be seen through you not by your effort, but by your abiding. I formed you for this: to be a vessel of My Son, that He may be manifest in your mortal frame.
Make space for Me, and I will fill it. Cease from striving, and I will act through your resting. You are not called to manage people or rescue the world. You are called to host Me. And when you do, rivers of life will flow where I lead.
Scriptures referenced: John 2:24–25; Hebrews 10:9; Matthew 18:5; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 4:10–11; John 7:38; Luke 4:42–43
🔑 Real-Life Analogy
It’s like using a GPS on a long road trip. You can see alternate routes, traffic warnings, and every gas station on the way—but unless you follow the one voice guiding you step by step, you’ll get lost. Needs along the path may seem urgent, but detouring from His voice can cost more than time. Trust the guidance. He sees what you don’t.
🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence
Father, I thank You that I am not responsible to read every situation or anticipate every need—I am simply called to trust You. I rejoice that Your Spirit within me leads with perfect timing. I do not have to carry the world. I carry Christ, and that is more than enough. I rest in the truth that You entrust Yourself to me, not because of my ability, but because You delight to reveal Your Son through a yielded heart. Today, I walk not by need, not by pressure, but by Your indwelling life.