March 4: Acts 20:24 - I am His (Today's Reflection from My Utmost For His Highest)

Symbol of surrender and steady obedience

Bible Verse

Acts 20:24

"None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself..."

Reflection

Paul’s words in Acts 20:24 expose the quiet divide between a life offered to God and a life still gently guarded by self. Chambers names it plainly: it is far easier to serve God without a call, without a vision, without surrender—because then nothing is required of us beyond what feels reasonable. We can stay in the realm of “usefulness,” where we choose the work, the timing, the cost, and the applause.

But once Jesus lays His hand on a life, everything shifts. The call becomes a steady inner pressure—holy, persistent, and unmistakable. It rearranges what we value. It interrupts our common sense. It refuses to let us measure our days by comfort, convenience, or visible results.

Paul wasn’t indifferent because he was hardened; he was indifferent because he was seized. He had been overtaken by a love and a commission that made self‑preservation feel too small. He wasn’t trying to be heroic—he simply belonged to Someone else.

This is where the question pierces: Is this true of me?

Do I still count my life dear to myself—my time, my preferences, my ideas of what “service” should look like? Or has Jesus become the One who decides where my energy goes, how my days are spent, and what obedience looks like in the hidden places?

Chambers warns that even “reasonable” Christian work can compete with surrender. We can cling to the places where we feel useful, needed, or affirmed, and miss the very thing Jesus is asking of us. Paul’s life reminds me that the call is not about being effective—it is about being His.

To be seized by Christ is to live with a holy single‑mindedness:

I am not my own. I am His. And whatever He asks is the thing I want to do.

Prayer

Lord, seize my heart again.
Strip away the layers of self‑protection, self‑direction, and self‑importance that keep me from full surrender.
Teach me to value Your will above my comfort, Your call above my preferences, and Your voice above my own reasoning.
Make my life a place where You are free to spend me as You choose.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

Breath Prayer

Inhale: I am not my own.
Exhale: I am Yours.

May the call of Jesus rest on you with both weight and tenderness—steady enough to guide you, gentle enough to draw you, strong enough to free you from every lesser allegiance. May you find yourself gladly surrendered, gladly spent, and gladly held by the One who has already given Himself for you.

~ Quil