Devotion: "Seeking God or His Gifts? Finding True Greatness in Surrender"
Scripture Focus:
“But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For
behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,” declares the Lord, “but I
will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.”
— Jeremiah 45:5 (NASB)
Introduction: The Heart Behind
Our Asking
Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, faced a
crisis of ambition. As he recorded God’s warnings of Judah’s collapse, his
personal hopes for safety or significance likely crumbled. God’s rebuke—“Are
you seeking great things for yourself?”—cuts to the core of every human
heart. But what if even our spiritual desires—prayers for blessings, peace, or
purpose—mask a deeper idolatry? Oswald Chambers challenges us: Are we seeking
God’s gifts or God Himself? In times of uncertainty, surrender, not ambition,
becomes the path to true life.
Context: Baruch’s Crisis and
Our Hidden Motives
Baruch served in a collapsing
nation. His role exposed him to God’s judgment (Jeremiah 36), yet he may have
clung to dreams of personal security or legacy. God’s warning to him transcends
time: “Do not seek [great things].” Chambers amplifies this,
arguing that even “good” desires—like asking for the Holy Spirit or peace—can
become self-serving if we value the gift over the Giver. Like Baruch, we’re
tempted to negotiate with God: “I’ll follow You if You grant me ____.” But
God demands more than conditional loyalty.
1. The Trap of Transactional
Faith
Chambers warns, “Nothing
is easier than getting into a right relationship with God, except when you’re
only looking for what you can get out of it.” We pray for blessings,
breakthroughs, or even spiritual gifts, yet Jesus reminds us, “Your
Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8). The
problem isn’t asking—it’s why we ask.
- Self-Centered Prayers: Baruch sought
safety; we might seek comfort, success, or spiritual experiences. God’s
response? “You aren’t seeking Me at all; you’re seeking things for
yourself” (Chambers).
- The Idolatry of “Good” Desires: Even
ministries, callings, or holy ambitions can become idols if they eclipse
our hunger for God’s presence.
Scripture:
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives” (James
4:3).
2. The Promise of His Presence
Amidst disaster, God vows to
protect Baruch’s life as “booty”—a treasure preserved in chaos. This isn’t a
promise of ease but of His faithfulness. Chambers writes, “God
ignores present perfection for ultimate perfection.” His goal isn’t
our temporary happiness but eternal union with Him (John 17:11).
- Abandonment, Not Bargaining: Baruch’s
survival wasn’t a reward for good behavior but a gift for continued
surrender. Likewise, God’s greatest gift isn’t what He gives but who
He is.
- The True Reward: “When you draw near
to God, you will stop asking for anything other than him” (Chambers).
Like Paul, we learn to count all things as loss compared to knowing Christ
(Philippians 3:8).
Scripture:
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him” (Lamentations
3:24).
Application: From Ambition to
Abandonment
- Ask Hard Questions:
- “What do I want from God, and why do I want
it?”
- “Is my prayer life transactional or
transformational?”
- Seek His Face, Not His Hand:
Pray Psalm 27:8: “Your face, Lord, I will seek.” Shift from asking for blessings to craving intimacy. - Embrace God’s Greater Story:
Like Baruch, trust that God’s preservation has a purpose. Trials refine us for eternal glory (James 1:2-4).
Conclusion: The Surprising Gift
of Empty Hands
Baruch’s story ends not with
earthly greatness but with a spared life—a metaphor for the Christian journey.
Chambers reminds us: “The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is
service for Him.” Even noble deeds can distract us from the “one thing
needed” (Luke 10:42). True surrender means releasing our definitions of success
and letting God redefine greatness. His presence, not our plans, becomes the
prize.
Prayer:
Lord, strip me of selfish ambition—even the “holy” kind. Forgive me for
seeking Your hands more than Your face. In loss, uncertainty, or broken dreams,
teach me to cling to You as my portion. Amen.
Reflect:
- What “good thing” have I made an idol of? How can I
recenter my desires on God alone?
- How might my current trials be redirecting me from
seeking gifts to seeking the Giver?
“He is no fool who gives what
he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” — Jim Elliot
“When you get to God, the only thing you’ll wish is that you had sought Him
more.” — Oswald Chambers
Summary by ChatGPT:
This devotion explores God’s
rebuke to Baruch in Jeremiah 45:5, warning him—and us—not to seek greatness for
ourselves but to find true life in surrender. Baruch’s ambition, even in a
collapsing nation, mirrors our own tendency to seek blessings, success, or
spiritual experiences more than God Himself. Oswald Chambers reminds us that
even “good” desires can become idols if they eclipse our hunger for God's
presence. True faith is not transactional—seeking what we can get—but
transformational, seeking intimacy with the Giver, not just His gifts. God
promised Baruch not ease, but His preservation, symbolizing that His presence
is the real prize. The devotion calls us to examine our motives, shift from
ambition to abandonment, and embrace God’s greater story, where true greatness
is found not in our achievements, but in clinging to Him as our portion.
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