My Upmost for His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

Genres: Devotional

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1935

About the author

Oswald Chambers was born to devout parents in Aberdeen, Scotland. At age 16, Oswald Chambers was baptized and became a member of Rye Lane Baptist Chapel. Even as a teenager, Chambers was noted for his deep spirituality, and he participated in the evangelization of poor occupants of local lodging houses. Oswald married Gertrude in May 1910, and on May 24, 1913, Gertrude gave birth to their only child, Kathleen. In 1915, a year after the outbreak of World War I, Chambers was accepted as a YMCA chaplain. He was assigned to Zeitoun, Cairo, Egypt, where he ministered to Australian and New Zealand troops, who later participated in the Battle of Gallipoli. Soon his wooden-framed "hut" was packed with hundreds of soldiers listening attentively to his messages. Confronted by a soldier who said, "I can't stand religious people," Chambers replied, "Neither can I." Chambers was stricken with appendicitis on October 17, 1917 but resisted going to a hospital on the grounds that the beds would be needed by men wounded in the long-expected Third Battle of Gaza. On October 29th, a surgeon performed an emergency appendectomy, but Chambers died November 15, 1917 from a hemorrhage of the lungs. He was buried in Cairo with full military honors. Gertrude, for the remainder of her life published books and articles for him edited from the notes she had taken in shorthand from his sermons. Most successful of the thirty books was, "My Utmost for His Highest", which has never been out of print and has been translated into 39 languages.

Reviews

[Karen Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique book written as an allegory featuring Much Afraid's brokenness and her journey with her helpers Suffering and Sorrow to The Most High. The Good Shepherd is with her any time she calls out to Him. I highly recommend this book for anyone who struggles with why God allows suffering and sorrowfulness. Along her journey, Much Afraid finds courage and is shaped into the creation she is meant to be. I had read it in a Christian Book Club years ago so this was my second time through. It is a wonderful reminder of God's ever-loving presence in our lives.