Oswald Chambers: Hope - A Holy Promise Sample

Think of the worst man you know, not the worst man you can think of, for that is vague. Have you any hope for him? Does the Holy Spirit convey to you the wonder of that man being presented perfect in Christ Jesus? This test determines whether you are learning to think about men as Jesus thought of them. The Holy Spirit brings us into sympathy with the work Jesus has done on behalf of men in that He is “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.”

The gifts of the Spirit are built on God’s sovereignty, not on our temperament. What does it matter to the Lord Almighty what your early training was like! What matters to Him is that you don’t lean on your own understanding, but acknowledge Him in all your ways. The great stumbling-block that prevents some people being simple disciples of Jesus is that they are gifted—so gifted that they won’t trust in the Lord with all their hearts.

Reflection Questions: In what ways do I limit God by thinking of certain people or situations as hopeless? What natural talents do I trust more than God?

Quotations taken from Conformed to His Image and Approved Unto God, © Discovery House Publishers