July 7
Today's Reading: My Utmost for His Highest
Matthew 7:13–14
"Enter by the narrow gate…
Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life…"
The Difficult Way, The Beautiful Way
Summary
Chambers’ message today is: “All Efforts of Worth and Excellence Are Difficult.” This devotional is my reflection — my testimony. It became long because the subject is serious, and surrender is not a light matter. Because of that, I asked Microsoft Copilot to create a short summary so you wouldn’t have to read the entire piece unless you want to.This reflection tells the story of how God opened my eyes after 68 years of living saved but unsurrendered — how He lifted decades of burdens, softened my heart, poured out grace, and began molding me into someone He can trust and use. It is the journey from self‑effort to Spirit‑led living, from heaviness to peace, from confusion to clarity, from striving to yielding. It is the narrow gate, the difficult way, and the beautiful life found only in surrender. This is the life of Christ — my life now hidden in His.
I have always heard it said that anything worth having is worth working for. That is true for the Christian life. The Christian life is beautifully difficult — and beautifully worth it.
I have done nothing but cry since God "got hold of me" and turned my life around. I have cried to release stress, fears, and anxiety. I have cried in relief as those same things were lifted. I cry in release of years of pain and brokenness. The Lord is still healing me.
I cry because everything I go through as He is molding me touches parts of me that have not been touched in a long time — or have never been touched by human interaction before. But now God is touching those places, and crying is my way of opening up and receiving it. I am being molded into a new person—a person touched by God, a life changed by God.
God saves us by the atonement of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. Do we appreciate the miraculous salvation of Jesus enough to be our best for His glory?
We are saved by God's grace. But we have to make the decision to connect with Him afterward. We can completely ignore the indwelling Holy Spirit and make our own decisions and go our own way. We never have to acknowledge Him. But that does not mean He is not there. It does not mean He is not working in our lives. It does not mean He does not have our lives in His hands.
He does not force Himself on us. He will not override our free will or take over our lives. He stays right where we put Him — on the sidelines, quiet, unobtrusive.
He carries the power of God in His holy presence. He is God with us in Spirit. He is the Comforter. He has a river of grace, and He pours it out daily. Am I partaking of my share of the grace being offered? There is no limit to this abundance of grace. No waiting lines. No shout‑outs. If I show up — wonderful. If I don't — that is my extreme loss.
If I was informed of this river of grace when I was growing up, I do not remember it. I read the Scriptures just like everyone else. I heard the verses. I attended the classes. I sat in church and listened. But the deeper meaning of surrender and grace was hidden from me until God opened my eyes. I didn’t miss it — it simply wasn’t revealed to me yet. God chose this season of my life to uncover it.
I am learning that I do not live the Christian life by my own faith, strength, or effort. Jesus meant it when He said, "Have the faith of God." The Holy Spirit supplies the very faith of Jesus to me — not something I try to create on my own. I simply surrender, ask, and receive. When my own faith is not enough, I ask the Holy Spirit for the faith of Jesus, and He gives it. When my strength fails, I ask for God's strength, and He supplies it. This is how I walk in the Spirit: not by striving, but by yielding. Not by trying harder, but by letting the Spirit lead. Whatever I need — grace, strength, faith — I ask, and I receive.
I found all of this in the book My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. I am on a spiritual journey through this book. Almost every day I come across a deep spiritual truth taught in a deep and meaningful way by Chambers. God is meeting me in the pages of this book. I am living out these devotionals in my own life. It has been life‑changing, to say the very least. God is teaching me through Chambers' book in a way I never understood before.
I have discovered that I do not have to try to manufacture love for Jesus, faith in Jesus, or strength of my own. Grace is free, overflowing, and abundant. The Holy Spirit within me pours out love for Jesus into my heart, and I in turn pour it out on mankind as the Spirit works the very life and nature of Jesus into me.
I do not live by my own faith — I adopt the faith of Jesus Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit within me. And I do not simply ask for strength — I receive the very strength of God Himself through the Holy Spirit within me.
So I walk in the Spirit because the Holy Spirit allows it and guides this walk. I am given the very faith and strength of Jesus. I can ask for grace at any time and any place. I never wait to ask for what I need exactly when I need it — it is flowing now. Whatever I need, I ask, and I receive.
When I let God have the steering wheel of my life, He pulled me out of the ditch I was in. He brushed off the dirt, cleansed me from the deepest inside places to the outermost parts. He stood me up with the strength of God, equipped me with the faith of Jesus, and He keeps me in His ways by opening my spiritual eyes so that I now walk in the Spirit. I connect to the Holy Spirit within me and walk in the Spirit by His faith and strength. I am kept by the Spirit, taught by the Spirit, made whole by the Spirit.
I am being molded into the image of Christ by fire, wind, and rain — trials of sorrow, loss, and tribulation. It is most definitely a trying time. But when I emerge from the Potter's hand, how glad I am to have gone through that valley. I am stronger. I am steady. I am a person God trusts. A person God can use. A person others may not understand. But a person who says: I choose to stand for God and nothing else. Because Jesus wants a devoted follower — someone devoted to Him alone, someone who loves Him above all else.
I have discovered I can be this person only because the Holy Spirit enables me. The blood of Christ has cleansed me and washed my sins away. I am saved and being sanctified — made holy because He lives within me. I am strengthened, upheld, empowered, chosen, and called by God to do His will. I have surrendered my life to Him because He alone can give me the life of freedom in Christ. I am His.
If someone has not surrendered their life to God, they are still saved. They are still in the palm of His hand. But they are fighting an internal war. Sin, self, and will run amok inside them and drown out the quiet voice of God. The hardening of the heart, to protect it from further pain, causes them to be unable to receive the grace they so badly need. This was my life for 68 years. I was saved at the age of nine but I did not understand exactly what I had done. I did not grasp the enormity of it—the importance.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. I basically ignored the Holy Spirit within me most of my life. I prayed as if He was not there. I had no idea I was in the palm of His hand—that sin, self, and my willful will were running amok inside me. I never understood that my spirit fighting His spirit was the sin, self, and willful will causing all the problems. When we do not make room for God, life becomes a battle fought in our own strength. We try to manage sin, self, and will through our own will power, and we wear ourselves out. It is not something we are equipped to do.
I was unaware of the magnificent grace available to all saints. When we harden our hearts to survive, we close the very door through which grace longs to enter. We live half‑alive, half‑aware, half‑surrendered — saved, but not walking in the fullness of the life God intended.
I should have been listening for a quiet, soft voice. I should have included Him in all of my decision-making. He was there all of the time, and I needed to have made room for Him in my life. I never once asked Him what His will for my life was. He knew I was gonna make a huge, disastrous mess of my life—because He was always there, keeping me alive.
Now He is using my mess to teach others about what not to do—or rather, what you should do so your life will not be broken and your heart won't be shattered to pieces like mine. Or if it is too late for that... how to find redemption... and how to find it in the arms of the only One able to put you back together again—Jesus Christ the Lord.
When we finally come to the end of ourselves and admit we need help, we discover that the Lord is the One who rounded us up, drew us in, and has been right there all this time waiting for the day our heart's door cracks open and we ask for His help.
We give it all to Him — through the surrender of our will — and everything changes.
The difficult way becomes possible.
The Spirit’s voice becomes clear.
Worry disappears—because we discover grace. We bow at the foot of the throne... heavy-laden with decades of burdens, fears, anxieties, and worries... and we lay every last one of them down at His feet. We ask Him to take them, please, because we cannot carry them any longer. We leave them there when we get up. Peace and silence are now our companions.
Surrender is not a one‑time event. It is a daily yielding, a daily listening, a daily choosing to let God lead instead of self. It is the quiet, steady decision to trust the Holy Spirit with every step.
And as I walk this narrow way, I discover something miraculous:
The narrow gate is the freeing gate.
The molding is the making.
The discipline is the love.
The trials are the shaping.
The surrender is the life
As Paul says, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on..." "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12, 14
This is the excellent way.
This is the way that leads to abundant life.
And I choose it — every day — because Jesus chose me first.
Prayer
Lord, I continue in my surrender to You.I yield my will, my ways, my self, and my life.
Lead me through the narrow path — I am following You step by step.
Lend me Your faith, Your strength, and Your grace for the journey.
Keep my heart soft, my spirit listening, and my feet on the right path.
I press on toward the goal.
I am just the clay in Your Potter's hands—shape me, Lord.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Scripture References
Matthew 7:13–14 — Jesus teaches that the narrow gate and difficult way lead to true life.
Galatians 2:20 — We live by the faith of the Son of God, not our own.
Mark 11:22 — Jesus says, “Have the faith of God,” pointing to God‑supplied faith.
Romans 8:14 — Those led by the Spirit are the children of God.
Romans 8:26 — The Spirit helps us in our weakness and supplies what we cannot.
John 14:26 — The Holy Spirit teaches, comforts, and reminds us of truth.
2 Corinthians 12:9 — God’s grace is sufficient; His strength is made perfect in weakness.
Psalm 34:4 — God delivers us from all our fears when we seek Him.
1 Peter 5:7 — Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Isaiah 30:21 — The still, small voice behind you says, “This is the way, walk in it.”
Jeremiah 18:6 — We are clay in the Potter’s hands; He shapes us through trials.
Romans 5:5 — The Holy Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts.
Romans 6:14 — We live under grace, not under the law.
Psalm 46:10 — “Be still and know…” — peace and silence become companions.
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