Those who know me well have heard me share stories of the impact Oswald
Chambers has made in my life. Chambers was an early twentieth-
century Scottish Baptist and Holiness Movement evangelist and teacher, best
known for the devotional My Utmost for His Highest.
For years as part of my daily quiet time I’ve enjoyed gaining insight into
Chamber’s wisdom at the start of each day by reading from this devotional. My
Utmost for His Highest is a complication of years of Chamber’s sermons and
teachings assembled by his wife Gertrude. Biddy (as she was lovingly referred to
by Chambers) had been a court stenographer prior to their marriage. However,
after their nuptials she gave up her career to travel the world with her husband
taking copious shorthand notes of his teaching and preaching.
After Chamber’s death in Cairo, Egypt in 1917 Biddy took seven years to compile
365 selections of Chamber talks, each of about 500 words. Over the last 100
years My Utmost for His Highest has never been out of print and to date, has
been translated into 39 languages.
Years ago, a work colleague and I would swap observations about the truisms of
Chamber’s thinking and how relevant so much of his teachings are to this day.
One of my favorite quotes is,
“An unguarded strength is a double weakness.”
If you’d like to be inspired daily by the wisdom of Oswald Chambers you can
