Fixing My Gaze: Not on the Work, But on the One Who Works in Me
Freedom in childlike devotion comes not from the work, but from the One we walk with.
Oswald Chambers sounds a gracious but necessary alarm to those who, in their zeal to serve God, may inadvertently begin to serve their service. It’s a subtle shift—from being God-centered to being work-centered—and it can slowly steal the joy of true devotion. Chambers reminds us that Christian service is not about effort that eclipses intimacy. The work of the believer must never replace the worship of the Beloved.
Chambers presses us to ask: Am I more focused on what I do for God than on my fellowship with Him? If so, we risk becoming weary laborers rather than joyful children. True sanctification, he says, doesn’t result in exhausted striving but childlike freedom—the kind that comes from abiding moment by moment with our co-Worker.
The only responsibility we carry is this: to keep our inner gaze fixed on the Father and allow nothing to interfere with that abiding. The freedom to pour ourselves out in the work He assigns doesn’t come from discipline alone—it springs from delight in Him.
God alone appoints our field of labor. Our joy is not in choosing the work, but in losing ourselves in devotion to the One who works through us. Whether the task feels lofty or lowly, our calling is the same: wholehearted fellowship in whatever we do, because we are doing it with Him.
Personalized Journal Entry in the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You are not your own. You were bought with a price, and I have placed you exactly where I desire you to walk in My grace. Do not strain to prove yourself in your labor, for you are My workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the works I prepared beforehand.
I do not call you to build monuments for Me, but to abide in Me. When your heart drifts into measuring your worth by the demands or outcomes of your work, return to Me. I am not looking at your productivity—I am looking at your gaze. Are you fixing your eyes on Me?
You are My child, not My employee. I do not assign burdens but share in your yoke. My Spirit within you is the source of all I ask of you. Remain in Me and let My life flow through yours, for apart from Me, you can do nothing. But in Me, you will bear fruit that lasts.
Let your hands work with joy, your mind stay uncluttered by pressure, and your heart be light with peace. As you serve, do not forget the simplicity of our union. I delight in your devotion more than your duties, and I rejoice to work through you—quietly, continually, freely.
Stay with Me. Watch Me. Walk with Me.
(1 Corinthians 6:19–20, Ephesians 2:10, John 15:5, Matthew 11:29–30, Colossians 3:23, Galatians 5:1)
Prayer
Lord, I trust You today—not only to be the source of what I do, but the joy in why I do it. Thank You for freeing me from the heavy burden of performance. My heart is at rest knowing that the work is Yours, and I simply get to walk with You in it. Keep my eyes from drifting toward the task itself. Let me treasure You more than any outcome, and remain in constant fellowship with You in every detail of my day. Whatever You place in my hands, I receive it with childlike faith and offer it back in wholehearted devotion.
Devotional credit: My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
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