against fleshly desires. Namely, spiritual success.

Mr. Chambers once again brought me to a critical time of self examination in My Utmost For His Highest yesterday morning. He had this to say:

“Worldliness is not the trap that most endangers us as Christian workers; nor is it sin. The trap we fall into is extravagantly desiring spiritual success; that is, success measured by, and patterned after, the form set by this religious age in which we now live.”

He goes on…

“Jesus told us not to rejoice in successful service, and yet this seems to be the one thing in which most of us do rejoice…Salvation and sanctification are the work of God’s sovereign grace, and our work as His disciples is to disciple others’ lives until they are totally yielded to God.”

And then, if what he already said was not probing enough:

“Unless the worker lives a life that is totally “hidden with Christ in God”, he is apt to become an irritating dictator to others, instead of an active living disciple. Many of us are dictators, dictating our desires to individuals and to groups. But Jesus never dictates to us in that way.”

In a sense, this passage is a strong exhortation (as well as challenge) to battle against my desire to succeed spiritually. I never thought of it that way, but this is exactly what I have been doing. My recent battle against discouragement concerning the Bible study I am leading this summer was just that: a desire for spiritual success. And while my motives were right in that I want to see the women in my church grow in Godliness and rebuke satan and the lies he tells us, my motives were also impure in their desire to be “seen” and to be in a “high” position.

My goal is this: to remember that God is working through me and through Him people are changed. It is none of my doing. And my greatest prayer is that I will do what I do in order to bring Him glory, not me.