Village Schools of the Bible

Biddy Chambers "I served the Lord with great humility."

IFor several years, as some of you may know, I have had the privilege of sending a weekly devotional to about 350 people around the world, in seven countries. These are called E-LINKS and writing them is stimulating and an occasional response is an encouragement. Now and then an E-LINKER will forward a copy of something they have found valuable.

I have just received an article written by an unknown friend, Bob Sibert, and I want to share its challenge with you. In it he refers to a man whose impact on my younger life was strong. His name is Brother Lawrence, about whom Bob writes: (Scripture reference: "Jesus came so that we might have and enjoy life, and have it to the full, until it overflows" John 10:10) A 17th century monk, Brother Lawrence, found the answer to enjoy the nitty-gritty of everyday life. He was a humble cook in a French monastery, but he authored a book entitled, Practicing the Presence of God. In it, Brother Lawrence explained how he was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks, like preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of praise and communion with God. The key, he wrote, was not to change what you do, but to change your attitude toward what you do. When you begin doing these tasks, realize that you are doing them for God. Use it as an opportunity to worship Him through acts of service. When you do, you will discover pleasure even in taking out the trash.

So don't let the enemy deceive you into thinking that you must get away from your daily routine in order to truly relax and enjoy Life. Don't wait for your next vacation--enjoy today and every day as a gift from God. Enjoy getting up and eating breakfast. Enjoy going to work. Enjoy mowing the lawn. Enjoy going to the grocery store. Enjoy washing the dishes.. You have to do these things anyway so why not choose to enjoy them? When you do, you will go through life with a smile on your face, a spring in your step and you'll enjoy the abundant, overflowing life of victory that God has in store for you."

This reminds me what I read a few years ago, about Billy Graham's wife, who had a printed card on the wall over her kitchen sink, which said, DIVINE SERVICE HELD HERE, THREE TIMES A DAY. We often think that to please God we must do something spectacular, even extraordinary, when all He desires is what we read in Colossians 3:23, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, because you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

I was stirred a few weeks ago upon reading an article sent by E-LINKERS in Australia. As you know, I have written a book called Musings on Oswald Chambers 'My Utmost for His Highest'. His book is considered by some as the most widely-read devotional-book ever written. Through the years I have often thought about his life and ministry and thanked the Lord for the huge blessings he had been to me. Then one day I wondered what his wife was like, since I had read nothing about her. My question was answered by the quote my friends sent, taken from a Weekly Devotional, called The Word for Today.

Biddy Chambers "I served the Lord with great humility." Acts 20:19 NIV

My Utmost For His Highest is the world’s best selling devotional book. Yet without his wife, Gertrude Chambers, the unrecognized driving force behind Oswald Chambers’ writings, we wouldn’t have this book at all. In the foreword, she tells how the selections came from his various speaking engagements. Yet she signed only with the initials B.C.

Who was this remarkable woman? Her husband affectionately called her “Biddy,” a term of endearment. Oswald died as a result of complications following surgery in Egypt where he’d been ministering to the British Troops. Thousands mourned his death at 43. So well loved was he by those he ministered to that, in spite of the fact that he wasn’t part of the military, he was given a full military burial in the old British cemetery in Cairo.

They were married for just seven years when, at age 34, Biddy became a widow and the single mother of a little girl. Actually, the real story of the man’s fame began at his death. Before she met Oswald, Biddy was a stenographer. She could take shorthand faster than many of us could talk. So she began listening to her husband’s messages and took shorthand notes – hundreds of them – never thinking that one day they’d be transcribed into books and that she would become the publisher of them. The world owes a debt of gratitude to this humble and generally unknown woman whose efforts are still blessing so many. May God give us more people like her; people who believe that great things can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.