This is part of my year-long series exploring human-centered alternatives to the spiritual promises in Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest. Today’s entry, “Come with Me”, promises that disciples can learn to “abide in Jesus” in any condition, receiving a spiritual “new name” that completely erases pride and self-sufficiency, with Jesus making his permanent dwelling with those who let him “be everything.”
Here’s a different approach:
When Amy felt called to missionary work in her early twenties, her pastor encouraged her to “consecrate your right to yourself” to God and trust him to make a “holy experiment” of her life. “Abandon your natural preferences,” he urged. “Let God engineer your circumstances, and you’ll have spontaneous obedience and moral originality.”
Amy took this advice seriously. She suppressed her introverted nature and discomfort with evangelism, believing these were selfish preferences that needed to be surrendered. She accepted a missions assignment in Brazil despite having no aptitude for languages and feeling overwhelmed by large group ministry. “God’s experiments always succeed,” she reminded herself.
But the promised transformation never came. Amy struggled with Portuguese, felt drained by constant social interaction, and found herself ineffective at the evangelistic work that felt so unnatural to her. Instead of moral originality, she experienced anxiety and burnout. Rather than spontaneous obedience, she forced herself through daily activities that depleted her energy and confidence.
Meanwhile, her friend Sarah took a different approach to serving others. Instead of abandoning her natural temperament, Sarah worked with it. She recognized her gifts for one-on-one mentoring and her love of research and writing. Rather than forcing herself into missionary evangelism, she developed programs for local refugee resettlement.
Sarah didn’t consecrate her “right to herself” but rather consecrated her actual self—with all its quirks and limitations—to meaningful service. She used her natural analytical skills to research effective integration programs. Her preference for deep relationships over large groups made her an excellent mentor for refugee families navigating new systems.
The “holy experiment” that succeeded was Sarah’s decision to serve authentically rather than forcing herself into an ill-fitting spiritual mold. Her work had real impact because it aligned with her strengths rather than fighting against her temperament. The freshness in her ministry came not from a divine wellspring but from doing work that energized rather than drained her.
When Amy returned from Brazil after a difficult two years, she felt like a spiritual failure. But observing Sarah’s sustainable service helped her realize that effective ministry might require embracing rather than abandoning her natural design. Amy found her own path serving through behind-the-scenes administrative work that supported other missionaries—work that felt natural and produced genuine results.
The invitation Amy eventually extended to others wasn’t “Come, abandon yourself” but “Come, discover how your authentic gifts can serve real needs.”
Reflection Question: When has working with your natural temperament and preferences been more effective than trying to abandon them for spiritual service?
This story is part of my upcoming book “The Undevoted: Daily Departures from Divine Dependence,” which offers 365 human-centered alternatives to the spiritual certainties in Chambers’ devotional. Each day explores how reason, community, and human resilience can address life’s challenges without requiring divine intervention.
God or Delusion? 