Updated May 31, 2018 to include an audio version of the post.
Righteous people (Jesus’ followers, saved by grace)
shall live by faith in God and faithfulness to the Lord.
(Habakkuk 2:4 paraphrase)
Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Howard Elliot Gren (1926-2015) was a Christian missionary, author, and speaker known to many of you. She grew up in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, PA. Her first husband, Jim Elliot, was martyred in 1956, doing missionary work in Ecuador. Elisabeth’s radio program “Gateway to Joy” opened like this: “You are loved with God’s everlasting love, that’s what the Bible says. And underneath are Christ’s everlasting arms.”1
Elisabeth popularized an anonymous poem which I have adapted below. She used it when she didn’t know which way to turn or what to do next. Elisabeth kept re-committing herself to trusting Christ, then she got busy doing the next right thing she knew that the Lord commanded us in Scripture. Elisabeth didn’t let go and let God. She trusted Jesus and did good like Psalm 37:3 teaches. Elizabeth’s faith in Christ was active, not passive. Jesus gives us forensic righteousness (justification) and Holy Spirit power for ethical righteousness (sanctification) lived out in everyday life.
The Poem
Elisabeth used this poet’s advice to encourage and strengthen herself in the Lord her God. She also used it to help other Christians navigate times of spiritual anxiety, depression, stress, and the tyranny of the urgent. She used it to help others who were grieving, weary, and uncertain. Lord, use this poem to help us take the next step in walking by faith in Christ.
1. From an old English parsonage, down by the sea,
There came in the twilight a message for me.
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
It has, seems to me, God’s teaching from Heaven.
And on through the hours the quiet words ring,
Like a low inspiration: DO THE NEXT THING.
2. Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt will be quieted here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King.
Trust them with Jesus. DO THE NEXT THING.
3. Do it immediately. Do it with prayer.
Do it reliantly, casting all care.
Do it with reverence, tracing Christ’s hand.
He placed it before you with earnest command.
Rest on His omnipotence, safe beneath His wing.
Leave all resultings. DO THE NEXT THING.
4. Looking to Jesus, ever serener.
Working or suffering, let this be your demeanor.
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm.
Let the light of Christ’s countenance be your psalm.
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing!
Then, as He commands you, DO THE NEXT THING.
Related Scriptures
•Proverbs 21:3—To do what is right and just •is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Comment: God values our Christ-following actions more than doing religious rituals. It is more pleasing Him that we live right every day than do religious stuff in His name.
•Galatians 5:6—The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
Comment: Faith is not merely knowing the right facts about God, but it is a living trust in God’s grace that expresses itself in acts of love, mercy, and service. “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.”2
•Colossians 3:23-24—Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Comment: We are to work hard for Jesus out of true dependence on Him. Our attitudes and actions must be governed by His Scriptures, and motivated by love for God and our neighbors. We must consciously choose to do our jobs, care for others, and serve in various ways for Jesus. When we remember that Christ first loved us and gave Himself for us, that brings delight to our most ordinary tasks.
•James 1:22—Do not merely listen to the Scripture and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Comment: Trusting and obeying the Lord is not easy. Following Jesus often requires sacrifice and suffering. Living by every word that comes from God’s mouth means submitting to Him, obeying Him, and trusting Him to handle the consequences. Christ knows all and He knows best.
•Psalm 27:14—Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Comment: Elisabeth said, “Because God is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.” Waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, and to live with unanswered questions.
A Favorite Verse
In childhood, Elisabeth’s mother pointed her to Naomi’s advice to Ruth: “Sit still, my daughter, until you see and know how the matter will turn out.”3 There is a time to act, and a time to wait. When we have done our duty, we must wait to see what God will do.
Faith is like radar that sees through the fog. By God’s grace, we see by faith the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see. Corrie Ten Boom
Prayer: Lord, help us to trust and obey You step by step, especially when the future is unclear to us. Help us to believe You enough to stake our daily lives and our eternal destiny on You and Your Scriptures. Faith is all about trusting You when we cannot see what lies ahead. Give us faith to believe in You for salvation and faith for living through hardships day by day, when we can’t see a way out. Help us to trust You to always be with us, guarding and guiding us. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 Quoting Jeremiah 31:3 and Deuteronomy 33:27. 2 Hebrews 6:10. 3 Ruth 3:18.
Related posts you may also like