Do the Next Thing: Elisabeth Elliot

Bob RoaneCounseling, Jesus Christ, Loving and Trusting God

Here is an audio version of an earlier version of this post.

 

Jesus’ followers, saved by grace, shall live by faith in God and faithfulness to the Lord. (Habakkuk 2:4, my paraphrase)

Elisabeth Elliot

Elisabeth Howard Elliot (1926-2015) was a Christian missionary and speaker who authored over 20 books. She was brought up in a devout Christian family in Philadelphia’s Germantown section. 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 you are Christ’s everlasting arms.” 1 Elisabeth popularized a poem, which I have adapted below. She called it anonymous, but we now know Minnie Kenney Paull (1859-1895) wrote it.

The Poem

Elisabeth used Minnie’s advice to encourage herself in the Lord her God, and then get to work for Him. She also used it to help other Christians navigate times of spiritual anxiety, depression, stress, and the tyranny of the urgent. The poem can help us when we are grieving, weary, stuck in a rut, or uncertain. 

1. From an old English parsonage, down by the sea,
There came in the twilight a message for me.
It’s a quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
It has, it 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, and 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 with reliance, casting off 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.

Handling Hard Times

After Jim Elliot’s death, Elisabeth was left a widow and single mother in the Ecuadorian jungle. Baby Valerie was only 10 months old. Elizabeth felt overwhelmed and unprepared! She didn’t know which way to turn or what to do next. So Elisabeth kept recommitting to Christ, then got busy doing the next right thing (little or big) that she was responsible for. She was putting this Scripture into practice:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

This proverb is popular because it’s simple and very deep. It reminds us that relying on God (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) is the wisest thing we can do, and relying on ourselves is foolish. Proverbs 28:26 says, “Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.” When we think we are so smart, we usually are not. But when we acknowledge our need for God’s step-by-step leading and follow Him, we can live rightly.

Elisabeth was already a committed Jesus-follower. But in this time of crisis, she recommitted herself to God-dependent living. Saying that we trust God in easy times is easy. But when we don’t understand why He allows “bad” things, faith is hard. Trust means placing our confidence in the Living God, not just in religious ideas. Christians know the Lord Jesus; then we trust Him; then we entrust ourselves to Christ, our Helper.

In the “rubber meets the road” moments, the Living Lord sustains us and His Spirit of Life accompanies us. It’s as if doing that next thing is a conduit of God’s grace and power. We act, but so does He.

  • We work out what the Lord works in us.
  • Our obedience is real and active, yet God gives us the desire (“to will”) and the ability (“to work”).
  • The Lord’s sovereignty and our responsibility are not competing. God’s working is the foundation of our working.

After Jim Elliot’s death, Elisabeth was faced with confusion and uncertainty. She was a single mom and a widow, now alone at a jungle mission station that she and Jim had managed together. Now Elisabeth had to learn many things she wasn’t trained or prepared for. She said, “It was a great help to me simply to trust God and do the next thing.” Lord, help us to learn from her!

Lean Not on Your Own Understanding

Christians don’t abandon thinking, but we don’t let our own understanding be the final authority for how we live. We use our understanding, but we don’t lean on it. The prophet says:

Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. (Jeremiah 17:5-8 NLT)

Our own understanding is finite and often mistaken. Adam and Eve ignored God’s commands. They followed their own desires and plunged themselves and the whole human race into trouble.

The Holy Spirit teaches us how to live by His Holy Scriptures. That’s how He works. Proverbs is a handbook of “doing the next right thing.” It sometimes gives us the big picture; more often, it teaches us how to live today. Proverbs helps us keep our hearts pure, have a peaceful home, practice honesty, live honorably, care for people in need, and make good choices today. I’ll come back to more examples in the next post.

God’s unfolding plans didn’t make sense to Elisabeth. She said, “I don’t understand this, but I know Jesus whom I trust.” Let’s lean on the Lord Himself, beloved. Everything and everyone else is too weak to support the full weight of our lives.

In All Your Ways Submit to Him

Scripture doesn’t simply say, “Take life one day at a time.” The Bible is God-centered.

  • We don’t try to carry tomorrow’s burdens today, because the Lord calls us not to.2
  • We don’t get paralyzed by the immensity of all that needs to be done, because God is in control.3
  • We trust Jesus with the big picture, because we see only part of His plan.4
  • So we obey Him with our immediate responsibilities and leave the results with Him.5

Valerie Elliot Shepard is now 71 and spent her childhood through age 8 in Ecuador alongside her mother, Elisabeth. Valerie and her husband, Walt, have 8 children. Years ago, Elisabeth babysat her grandchildren for a few days and was exhausted by the constant demands and needs of multiple children. She asked her daughter how she managed. Valerie laughed and said, “Well, Mama, I do what you told me years ago. Do the next thing. Don’t sit down and think of everything you have to do. That will kill you. It’s crushing to think about all our duties. Just pick up the next thing and ask for God’s help to do it little by little.” 6

The Lord Will Make Your Paths Straight

What a wonderful promise! But let’s not misunderstand it. It doesn’t say God will make life easy.

  • Jesus tells His disciples we will face tribulation in the world.7
  • Believers are given the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for Him.8
  • Everyone who desires to live a godly life in Christ Jesus should expect opposition.9
  • We are not to be surprised by fiery trials that test our faith.10

“Straight” means that the Lord directs us, clears the way, or makes it right in the end. Psalm 73:24 says, “You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory.” It’s not a guarantee of a trouble-free life. Sometimes God makes the path straight by removing an obstacle or leading us over, under, around, or through it. Sometimes we discover afterward that the Lord was straightening our path all along, and He mysteriously gets us to the right place. Elisabeth often quoted this verse, and she truly lived it:

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. (Isaiah 50:7)

To be continued.

Prayer

Lord, help us trust and obey You step by step, especially when today and the future are unclear. Help us to believe You enough to stake our daily lives and our eternal destiny on You and Your Scriptures. Faith is all about believing You when we cannot see what lies ahead and taking action. Give us faith to rely on You for salvation and faith for living through hardships day by day, when we can’t see a way out. Help us to depend on You to always be with us, guarding and guiding us. Help us take the next right steps. We pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 Quoting Jer 31:3 and Deut 33:27.   2 Prov 27:1; Matt 6:34.   3 Prov 16:9; James 4:13-15.   4 Prov 16:9, 19:21; Jer 29:11; Eph 1:11.   5 Psa 37:5; Prov 16:3; Ecc 11:6; 1 Cor 3:7; Gal 6:9.   6 Adapted from “31 Days With Elisabeth Elliot: Do the Next Thing,” barbaraleeharper.com, Oct 10, 2015.   7 John 16:33.   8 Phil 1:29.   9 2 Tim 3:12.   10 1 Peter 4:12.

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