Thirty-five years ago, I was blessed to meet with the Rev. Richard Halverson, chaplain of the U.S Senate back then.
He introduced me to Oswald Chambers’ small devotional, My Utmost for His Highest.
After Chambers’ untimely death, his wife faithfully compiled many of his chapel messages shared with Bible college students in the daily devotional that’s been used by many pastors and laymen for more than 100 years now.
Upon reading one of those devotionals recently, I was compelled to take a crack at Chambers’ message on “Destined to be Holy.”
Here’s how that particular piece starts off: “We must continually remind ourselves of the purpose of life. We are not destined for happiness, nor to health, but holiness.”
So here are my thoughts on Happiness, Health and Holiness a full century after it was presented by Chambers.
Let’s start with this idea of happiness. There’s certainly nothing wrong with wanting a happy existence; however, to expect nothing but happy experiences to follow us all the days of our lives would be foolishness.
Life is filled with unanticipated events that might well bring us to our knees. After all, we cannot control our destiny. We live in a cruel world.
As followers of Christ, we know that Satan is the prince of the air and he roams about looking for ways to take us down a notch or two.
As an insurance professional, I frequently witness clients go through business hardships. Often, they are able to bounce back and become more resilient, while others unfortunately must shut their doors.
Long-term relationships are often severed. Business tragedies can be traumatic and affect the lives of many.
Through the years I’ve often written on my personal health challenges. Many seem consumed these days with the desire to extend their lives.
There’s certainly nothing wrong with eating well and exercising and getting plenty of rest, but we truly have no control over the number of days that we have left on this planet.
Our Lord will keep us around as long as He has need of us in His Master Plan. That may be for a long time — so take good care of yourself!
Now let’s take a crack at this idea of holiness. Holiness is not something reserved for priests and those who seem to be close to God.
That’s often man’s attempt to draw attention and be seen in a favorable light by his peers.
Holiness is initiated by God — not by man. He has a distinct purpose for our lives.
In His time, He will call us toward that purpose. All we must do is submit to His call, faithfully remain in His Word and remain in His perfect will.
God desires to make us holy. He wants to set each of us apart for His purpose. Seek His will.