
Oswald Chambers was born in Scotland in
1874 and was educated at London’s Royal College of Art and the University of
Edinburgh. Although gifted in the arts, he felt at the age of 22, that God
was calling him to become a minister. After studying and later teaching in a
small theological college in Dunoon, he moved into a preaching ministry that
spanned Britain, America and Japan.
In 1908, Oswald Chambers boarded a ship bound for America. He had been asked
to look out for a young lady, who was also travelling to America in search
of work and adventure.
Gertrude Hobbs (later to become Mrs Oswald Chambers) suffered annual bouts
of bronchitis as a child. She left school early to help her mother at home,
and to allow her older sister and brother to continue their education. She
studied Pitman shorthand and by the time she was old enough to work full
time, she could take dictation at the phenomenal rate of 250 words per
minute – faster than most people talk! Now in 1908, she was on a ship bound
for America and she was getting to know a man who intrigued her.
When the voyage ended, they parted company, but began to write to each
other. They soon realised that they had deep feelings for each other and
eventually they married in 1910.
Oswald Chambers spent nine years (1897-1906) at the Dunoon Theological
College, first as a student then as a tutor. It began with great joy in
learning and service, but soon became his dark night of the soul, a period
he later described as “four years of hell on earth.” A poem written in
September 1901 reveals the depth of his struggle:
O Lord Jesus, hear my crying
For a consecrated life,
For I bite the dust in trying
For release from this dark strife.
He emerged from it confident in the grace of God and the power of the Holy
Spirit. It also deepened his compassion for all those who struggle in life
and faith.
BIBLE TRAINING COLLEGE
1911
The B.T.C. was a haven for anyone in need. One student observed, ‘The
college kept open house for the broken, the bruised, the unfortunate, for
the old, the forlorn, and the weary.’
Student fees paid only a portion of the college costs and the difference was
met from private donors through the League of Prayer. There was never an
endowment, and never more money on hand to meet the needs beyond a week
ahead. In spite of that, Chambers maintained a carefree attitude of faith
and often paid for needed supplies from his own pocket. The house existed in
a spirit of freedom and informality where every one came and went with
perfect liberty.
EGYPT
1915
When World War I broke out, Oswald began to feel God was calling him to move
on. He wondered how he should serve his country at that time. His prayer was
“Lord, I praise You for this place I am in, but the wonder has begun to stir
in me – is this Your place for me? Hold me steady doing Your will. It may be
only restlessness; if so, calm me to strength that I sin not against You by
doubting.”
Hearing God’s call on the matter, he left London to become Chaplain to the
troops in Egypt in October 1915, and Biddy and their 2½ year old daughter,
Kathleen, followed in December 1915.
Biddy soon took up her ministry of hospitality and Oswald continued his
teaching ministry to the troops. At first sceptical, the soldiers soon began
to love and respect the Chambers family.
Oswald died of complications following an operation to remove his appendix
in 1917. The telegram which his wife sent home to his family in England
simply read: “Oswald, in His presence.” 100 men escorted the gun carriage
bearing the coffin. Only officers were the bearers. All of them walked the
whole funeral route with arms reversed – a special tribute to a well-loved
and respected man. Biddy’s chosen song at the funeral was “I to the hills
will lift mine eyes.”
My Utmost
1927
During the months before Oswald’s death, Biddy had transcribed his nightly
talks from the book of Job. After Oswald’s proofreading, she sent it to the
Nile Mission Press. The resulting book, “Baffled To Fight Better,” appeared
in late 1917 and was quickly in demand among soldiers and friends in England
alike. Each month Biddy sent one of Oswald’s talks in pamphlet form to
soldiers in Egypt and France. From this work emerged her sense that God’s
calling for her was to give Oswald’s words to the world.
When the last soldiers left Cairo in July 1919, Biddy and 6-year-old
Kathleen returned to England. With the encouragement and support of friends,
Biddy began what she would always call “the work of the books.”
From shorthand notes of Oswald’s classes, sermons and lectures, taken during
their 7½ years of marriage, she began publishing pamphlets and booklets,
which were later combined into books.
“My Utmost for His Highest” was first published in 1927, and has remained
continually in print ever since. Thousands of people have been blessed and
challenged as they have regularly read this daily devotional.
Biddy died in 1966, knowing that she had fulfilled the ministry which God
has entrusted to her. Oswald Chambers Publications Association seeks to
continue that ministry.
Biddy & Kathleen
Biddy
Biddy and Kathleen lived in Muswell Hill, London, and after Biddy died
Kathleen continued to live in the same house until her death in 1997. The
house was constantly filled with visitors.
Kathleen
Kathleen chose nine months of quotations for Run Today’s Race, a book Biddy
had started shortly before her death. Kathleen was a great encouragement to
her mother, and to everyone involved in publishing her father’s words. The
work continues today much as she would have wanted.
See also the
Wikipedia entry (pdf) |