My Utmost for His Highest is the title of a devotional by Oswald Chambers.  As I consider this concept I ask myself, “Am I giving my utmost for His highest?”  If my answer is “yes” then it will mean that I’m not necessarily taking the easy route.  The call of God is not a call to ease and comfort but as Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in The Cost of Discipleship, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

The Apostle Paul wrote,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:14)

When did Paul stop running his race?  It appears he ran his race right up to the end as he wrote to Timothy,

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;  (2 Timothy 4:7)

I want that to be my testimony, I want to run well and I want to finish the course that God has marked out for me.  So what does it look like to give your utmost for His highest?  It involves but is not limited to:

Being sensitive to His leading

Radical obedience to His word

Stepping out in faith – even when the way is not clear

John Henry Jowett wisely remarked, “Ministry which costs nothing accomplishes nothing.”  What’s an example from your life of giving your utmost for His highest?

Dr. Rick Higgins

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University