Loneliness itself is material for sacrifice. The very longings themselves can be offered to Him who understands perfectly. The transformation into something He can use for the good of others takes place only when the offering is put into his hands.
Elisabeth ElliotOne reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.
Elisabeth ElliotI have one desire now - to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it.
Elisabeth ElliotNo marriage can survive without forgiveness. Marriage is a long term commitment between two sinners.
Elisabeth ElliotLoneliness comes over us sometimes as a sudden tide. It is one of the terms of our humanness, and, in a sense, therefore, incurable. Yet I have found peace in my loneliest times not only through acceptance of the situation, but through making it an offering to God, who can transfigure it into something for the good of others.
Elisabeth ElliotThe God who created, names, and numbers the stars in the heavens also numbers the hairs of my head..He pays attention to very big things and to very small ones. What matters to me matters to Him, and that changes my life.
Elisabeth ElliotWe fundamentalists are a pack of mood-loving showoffs. I'm sure the Minor Prophets would have found subject for correction.
Elisabeth ElliotFreedom begins way back. It begins not with doing what you want but with doing what you ought - that is, with discipline.
Elisabeth ElliotIf God, like a father, denies us what we want now it is in order to give us some far better thing later on. The will of God, we can rest assured, is invariably a better thing.
Elisabeth ElliotThe only basis of peace is the cessation of the conflict of two wills: my will vs God’s.
Elisabeth ElliotOrdinary work, which is what most of us do, most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary.
Elisabeth ElliotHeaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for
Elisabeth ElliotThe process of shaping the child, shapes also the mother herself. Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may teach primarily by her own humble, daily example.
Elisabeth ElliotThe way you keep your house, the way you organize your time, the care you take in your personal appearance, the things you spend your money on, all speak loudly about what you believe. The beauty of thy peace shines forth in an ordered life. A disordered life speaks loudly of disorder in the soul.
Elisabeth ElliotHoliness has never been the driving force of the majority. It is, however, mandatory for anyone who wants to enter the kingdom.
Elisabeth ElliotGeorge Macdonald said, 'If you knew what God knows about death you would clap your listless hands', but instead I find old people in North America just buying this whole youth obsession. I think growing older is a wonderful privilege. I want to learn to glorify God in every stage of my life.
Elisabeth ElliotOur future may look fearfully intimidating, yet we can look up to the Engineer of the Universe, confident that nothing escapes His attention or slips out of the control of those strong hands.
Elisabeth ElliotIf you take being a father seriously, you'll know that you're not big enough for the job, not by yourself...Being a father will put you on your knees if nothing else ever did.
Elisabeth ElliotO God, I confess I am not worthy to rock that little babe or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of a child and its mother. How is it that I without any merit have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? Oh, how gladly will I do so. Though the duty should be even more insignificant and despised, neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor will distress me for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight.
Elisabeth ElliotDiscipline, for the Christian, begins with the body. We have only one. It is this body that is the primary material given to us for sacrifice. We cannot give our hearts to God and keep our bodies for ourselves.
Elisabeth ElliotRestlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.
Elisabeth ElliotAmong the most joyful people I have known have been some who seem to have had no human reason for joy. The sweet fragrance of Christ has shown through their lives.
Elisabeth ElliotTo me, a lady is not frilly, flouncy, flippant, frivolous and fluff-brained, but she is gentle, she is gracious, she is godly and she is giving. You and I have the gift of femininity... the more womanly we are, the more manly men will be and the more God is glorified. Be women, be only women, be real women in obedience to God.
Elisabeth ElliotThe disciplined Christian will be very careful what sort of counsel he seeks from others. Counsel that contradicts the written Word is ungodly counsel. Blessed is the man that walketh not in that.
Elisabeth ElliotWorry is the antithesis of trust. You simply cannot do both. They are mutually exclusive.
Elisabeth ElliotOne does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.
Elisabeth ElliotThe devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds. He will not allow quietness.
Elisabeth ElliotBut the things that we feel most deeply we ought to learn to be silent about, at least until we have talked them over thoroughly with God.
Elisabeth ElliotWhere does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, your stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don't need to search any further for security.
Elisabeth ElliotEither we are adrift in chaos or we are individuals, created, loved, upheld and placed purposefully, exactly where we are. Can you believe that? Can you trust God for that?
Elisabeth ElliotGod is God. I dethrone Him in my heart if I demand that he act in ways that satisfy my idea of justice.
Elisabeth Elliot