Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert…, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth Howard Elliot Gren (1926-2015) was a much-loved Christian missionary, author, and speaker. Through her writings and recordings, she became a Christian mother to men who I visit in prison and to thousands of women and men in the outside world. Elisabeth’s radio program “Gateway to Joy” was aired 1988 to 2001 and re-broadcasts can still be heard. The program 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 wrote “quiet time notes” during her twenties. One was a string of Scriptures, reminding her who the Lord is and all He does for Jesus’ followers. She found these notes years later and was encouraged by reviewing these verses. I was blessed also by her list and hope that you are too. I saw it in The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter from 1999 and have used the Scriptures she gathered with people in pastoral counseling and prison ministry. Most of the Bible verses selected are Elisabeth’s and the comments are mine, sometimes recalling her radio teaching over the years. When Elisabeth writes of God of course she means the Lord of the Old and New Testaments, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the one and only true God. He is the living God, the eternal King.2 As always, I interpret Old Testament passages in a Christ-centered way. That’s how Jesus taught us to read it.
Meditate on these truths about our Lord and turn them into prayers and worship to Him.
Christ is My Praise
Scripture says: Jesus is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen… Praise Him for His acts of power. Praise Him for His surpassing greatness. (Deut 10:21; Psalm 150:2)
Remembering the Lord’s past favors encourages us to trust and obey Him now and to ask for His help in the present and future. What the Lord did once, He can do again. Nothing is too hard for Him. Praising God helps us love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.3 The Lord’s servants are to sing His praises to the world’s end, preparing to adore Him forever in the next life.4 That honors God and empowers us.
Water You turned into wine, Opened the eyes of the blind
There’s no one like You, None like You
Into the darkness You shine, Out of the ashes we rise
There’s no one like You, None like You
Our God is greater, our God is stronger
God, You are higher than any other
Our God is healer, awesome in power. Our God, our God.5
Jesus is My Strength, Song, and Salvation
Scripture says: The LORD is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:14)
Psalm 118 is quoted many times in the New Testament. It tells of God’s rescuing help in dire times and of lessons David learned from the tough experiences.6 Human allies ultimately fail us and only the Lord can chase away our fears and deliver us. Swarms of enemies surrounded the Psalm writer and seemed ready to overwhelm him. But prayer and trust in God’s power were the spiritual weapons that brought David victory over adversities. Christ says, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”7
Elisabeth Elliot battled dementia for the last ten years of her life. She hung on to Jesus by faith, knowing that His strong hand and mighty arm were holding on to her. We can do the same with whatever physical, emotional, and spiritual struggles we face.
Christ the LORD is My Shepherd
Scripture says: I lack nothing… The God of peace brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep. (Psalm 23:1; Heb 13:20)
Drawing on Jacob’s words in Genesis,8 King David described God as a caring shepherd who protects His people from harm. We face trying, taxing, tense, terrifying times, but Christ leads us safely through them. Ultimately, He takes us home to Heaven to be with Him.
In John chapter 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd who knows the name of each and every one of His people. Then He died on the cross and rose from the grave to give us abundant and everlasting life that begins now and continues forever. Christ’s people listen to His voice and follow Him. We shall never perish. No one will snatch us out of Jesus’ hand. So let us tell others of the LORD’s unfailing love. Let us praise Him for all He has done for us. God has richly blessed us because of His mercy and constant love.9
Elisabeth said, “If deep in our hearts we suspect that God does not love us and cannot manage our affairs as well as we can, we certainly will not submit to His discipline.”
She quoted Frances Havergal’s hymn:
We may trust Christ fully all for us to do. They who trust Him wholly find Jesus wholly true.
Christ is My Righteousness
Scripture says: In (Messiah’s) days we will be saved and will live in safety… He will be called: The LORD our Righteousness… He rescues us from the hand of our enemies and enables us to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness all our days. (Jer 23:6; Luke 1:74-75)
Jeremiah knew that he was pointing ahead to Christ’s advent.10 Jesus would be an infinitely better king than David and fulfill all God’s promises and inaugurate the Lord’s new covenant.11 Christ will gather His followers from every nation, tribe, people, and language and adopt us into God’s forever family. Hallelujah! What a Savior! The Lord is faithful and He will strengthen and protect us from the evil one.12
Elisabeth Elliot warned us not to work on our self-esteem, but to be confident in Christ, not ourselves. She quoted from J. I. Packer’s Rediscovering Holiness: “Sin is an allergic reaction to God’s law, an irrational anti-God syndrome that drives us to exalt ourselves and steels our hearts against devotion and obedience to our Maker.” So we need to keep on running back to the Lord for His forgiveness and purifying grace.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?13
Prayer for Confidence in Christ
Protect us, Lord Jesus. We trust in You for safety. You are our King. All the good things we have come from You. You, Lord, are all we have, and You give us all we need. Our future is in Your hands. Make us thankful and glad in You, feeling completely secure in You. You will not abandon us to the world of the dead. You show us the path that leads to life. Your presence fills us with joy and brings us pleasure forever. Help us trust You more and more. We pray in Your name. Amen.14
You can read What God Is to Me: Elisabeth Elliot (Part 2)
Notes (various Bible translations used): 1 Quoting Jer 31:3 and Deut 33:27. 2 Jer 10:10. 3 Mark 12:30, quoting Deut 6:5. 4 John Boys (1571–1625). 5 “Our God” Song by Chris Tomlin, 2010. 6 The Bible does not state that David wrote this Psalm, but many commentators believe that he did, including Adam Clarke, G. Campbell Morgan, and James M. Boice. Martin Luther said: “This is my own beloved psalm. Although the entire Psalter and all of Holy Scripture are dear to me as my only comfort and source of life, I fell in love with this psalm especially.” 7 John 16:33. 8 Gen 48:15; 49:24. 9 Isa 63:7. 10 1 Pet 1:10-12. 11 Jer 31:31–34; Ezek 36:24-28. 12 2 Thes 3:3. 13 “Our God” Song by Chris Tomlin, 2010. 14 Prayer based on Psalm 16.