HE PROVOKES ME

Sitting on my desk with my Bible is a leather-bound copy of Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional, “My Utmost for His Highest.” The devotional was first published in 1927 and is the most read book in Christendom outside of the Bible, no matter what Rick Warren’s publicist says.

I have read this devotional for years, not because I agree with everything that Chambers says, because I don’t, but because this very godly and passionate man provokes me to do better in my walk with God.

Several years ago I was talking with a friend about this book and he suddenly blurted out, “I hate that book!” When I pushed him a bit to find out why he was so vehement, he explained, “It’s like the chapters are movable and they get rearranged during the night. When I pick up the book to read early in the morning, it speaks right to me, to where my life is. That’s why I hate it.” I must say there was kind of a smile on his face when he said the last, “I hate it!”

Oswald Chambers died in 1917 in Egypt while ministering to soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who were engaged in fighting World War I. Chambers was only 43 when he died of complications from appendicitis. At his funeral were hundreds of soldiers he had ministered to, battle-hardened men, many of whom had never gone to church. But they solemnly stood and wept as their friend, the man who had introduced them to a loving Savior, was honored.

Chambers didn’t actually write “My Utmost for His Highest,” his wife did. Biddy was a very accomplished stenographer who could take dictation at the astonishing rate of 250 words per minute. All during their marriage, Biddy carefully took down Chambers’ teachings and preserved them in her files. After he died, at the insistence of friends, she compiled the devotionals that have become the most read and celebrated book in the church world for over eighty years.

I need to be provoked from time to time. I am not talking about an angry confrontation when I use this word. I am talking about someone or something that pushes me to action and causes me to think outside my comfort zone, who encourages me to greater heights and a more intense passion in my pursuit of the “things of God.” Years ago I was talking with a very accomplished worship leader about the beautiful way he would lead a group of people into worship and he told me, “One of my responsibilities is to provoke those who are not worshipping to worship.”

We need people in our lives who provoke us in the right ways. There are plenty of people around who will provoke you in the wrong way and what arises is not righteous. A word of correction or a challenge from a friend is never meant to hurt or damage but to encourage and provoke to righteous action, to do better. “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:6).

I was talking with a close friend one day about a stressful situation in my life. I was tired and worn down from the constant strain and was looking for a friendly shoulder to cry on. My longtime friend was too smart to let me do that and after I had poured out my tale of woe, he looked at me and what came out of his mouth at first angered me. I wasn’t looking for a Scripture, I really wanted someone to pat me on the head and say, “There, there, Dave, it’ll be okay, this will soon be over.” Instead, my friend said, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small” (Proverbs 24:10 NKJV). That was not what I wanted to hear! But he was right and what he shared with me did me more good than just a word of encouragement.

I guess we could call my friend a “provocateur.”

Thank you, Oswald Chambers, and thank you to all the provocateurs who keep trying to stir me up. Don’t quit now!