Quick Biographies : Elisabeth Elliot
A Double Name’s Sake
This year, we will celebrate my son Elliot’s third birthday. When asked, I typically say that he is named after Jim Elliot, whose famous quote, “A man is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose,” hangs on our wall in our living room. But that’s mainly because it made more sense to me to name a baby boy after a man. He could just have easily been named after Jim’s wife, Elisabeth.
A Movie-Worthy Story
Most long-time church attenders are familiar with Elisabeth’s life. She was born in 1926 to missionaries in Belgium and moved with her parents to Philadelphia before she turned one. While studying classical Greek at Wheaton College, she met her husband, Jim. They both served in different parts of Ecuador for five years before getting married in 1953. Three years later, Jim was speared to death along with four other missionaries while trying to share the gospel with an unreached tribe. Rather than return home with their ten month old daughter, Elisabeth learned the language of the tribe who killed her husband. She later went, along with her then three year-old daughter, to minister to and live with them for two years, followed by another five years with another Ecuadorian tribe before returning to the U.S. in 1963. God used her courage and faithfulness to transform the tribe and bring many people to Christ. She spent the rest of her life as a writer and speaker, authoring twenty-four books and hosting a radio program called Gateway to Joy. After many years of fruitful ministry, she passed away in 2015 at the age of 88 after a decade of suffering from dementia.
Nothing Less
A legacy like Elisabeth Elliot’s is inspiring; but it can also be overwhelming, maybe even intimidating. After all, not many of us are called to travel to a foreign country, learn a little-known language, and minister to a primitive tribe in the jungle. Even fewer are called to serve her husband’s murderers with her three year-old daughter in tow. Maybe our days spent raising little ones, or working a nine to five (who are we kidding? Eight to six…), while long and arduous, also appear trite and insignificant compared to a story that has been transposed into books and movies. But while God doesn’t call us to the same story, he calls us to nothing less. As a mom of two littles, both of which have officially given up napping, one of my favorite articles by Elisabeth Elliot is “Do the Next Thing.” She starts by relating some examples of the practical side of ministry in the jungle after her husband’s death. Then she says,
“What is the next thing for you to do? Small duties, perhaps? Jobs that nobody will notice as long as you do them? A dirty job that you would get out of if you could have your own preferences? Are you asked to take some great responsibility, which you really don’t feel qualified to do? You don’t have to do the whole thing right this minute, do you? I can tell you one thing that you do have to do right this minute. It’s the one thing that is required of all of us every minute of every day. Trust in the living God.
Now what is the next thing? Well, perhaps it’s to get yourself organized. Maybe you need to clean off your desk, if you have a desk job that needs to be done. Maybe you need to clean out your kitchen drawers, if you’re going to do your kitchen work more efficiently. Maybe you need to organize the children’s clothes.”
Not Complicated
This is so powerful, because it’s something we can always be faithful in no matter what our circumstances are. Eugene Peterson says that following Jesus is “long obedience in the same direction.” When the task seems too great, when the time seems too short, we can ask ourselves a few questions to get back on track.
What is the next step in obedience?
Is what you are choosing to do with your time right now moving you in the right direction?
Am I trusting God to provide me with what I need in order to do what he has called me to do?
Who knows what amazing story God will write with those next things?