May you have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:8-19)
Loved by Jesus
Elisabeth Howard Elliot (1926-2015) was a much-loved Christian missionary, author, and speaker. Through her writings and recordings, she became a Christian mother to men whom I visit in prison and to thousands of women and men in the outside world. Elisabeth’s radio program, Gateway to Joy, aired from 1988 to 2001, and rebroadcasts 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. She wrote out 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 them. I was blessed by her list too, and I hope you are.2 I use these Scriptures with people in pastoral counseling and prison ministry. The comments below are mine, sometimes recalling Elisabeth’s radio teaching over the years. When she 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.3 As always, I interpret Old Testament passages in a Christ-centered way because that’s how the Risen Jesus taught us to read them.
Let’s meditate on these truths about our Lord and turn them into prayer and worship. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can be encouraged by God as Elisabeth was!
Christ is My Praise
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 character and 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.4 We are to sing His praises to the world’s end, preparing to adore Him forever in the next world.5 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.6
Why Praise Him?
- Jesus’ aliveness is the reason we are glad; He is the God-man and King of the universe.
- Christ is our source of joy. When life is hard, we still rejoice because Christ remains faithful, loving, and wise.
- The Lord is our confidence, not our circumstances, accomplishments, or people’s approval. Jesus is enough to cheer us.
- He is worthy of our worship, all the time, not only when things go well.
When Christ blesses us, forgives us, and provides for us, let’s praise Him. When we are waiting, when we don’t understand His ways, when everything is going wrong, let’s praise Him and join with other Christians to help us.
I will extol the Lord at all times. His praise will always be on my lips. (Psalm 34:1)
Jesus is My Strength, Song, and Salvation
The LORD is my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:14)
Psalm 118 is quoted and alluded to many times in the New Testament. It tells of God’s rescuing help in dire times and lessons David learned from the tough experiences.7 Human allies may fail us, but the Lord can chase away our fears and deliver us. Swarms of enemies surrounded David and were ready to overwhelm him. But prayer and trust in God’s power were the spiritual weapons that helped David prevail. Christ says, “In this world you will have trouble (tribulation, affliction, distress, oppression, or suffering). But take heart! I have overcome the world”8
Elisabeth Elliot was widowed twice, a single mom, and battled dementia for the last ten years of her life. She hung on to Jesus by faith, knowing His strong hand and mighty arm held her. We can do the same with whatever physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual struggles we face.
- When we are weak, God empowers us. Let’s not pretend to be strong but come to Jesus just as we are.
- When we’re afraid, the Lord gives us courage to press on. Let’s learn to trust Him instead of letting fear paralyze us.
- When life is hard, Christ sustains us. We can’t see a way forward, but we can follow Him one step at a time.
- When our plans don’t work out, God can still give us peace in the middle of life’s messes.
- When we feel inadequate, Jesus’ grace is sufficient. Let’s recall that His power is greater than our limitations.
Christ the LORD is My Shepherd
The Lord is my shepherd. 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 48, King David described God as his caring shepherd who protects His people from all kinds of harm. We face taxing, tense, terrifying times. But Christ stays with us and leads us safely through. Ultimately, He takes us home to Heaven to be with Him.
In John chapter 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd who knows every one of His people. He knows Laura, Felix, Nickie, Erik, Miller, Paul, and the rest of you. Christ treasures you! Speak your name out loud right now, Christian, and remember that you are precious to Christ, and sing Anna Bartlett Warner’s hymn:
Jesus loves me! This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones (say your name here) to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me! (3X) The Bible tells me so.
Christ the Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep. He died on the cross and rose from the grave to give us abundant life that begins now and continues forever. Because Christ first loved us, His grateful people listen to His voice and follow Him. We shall never perish. No one will snatch us out of Jesus’ hand. So let us adore Him and tell others of the LORD’s unfailing goodness. God has richly blessed us because of His constant lovingkindness.
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 follow Him.” She also quoted Frances Havergal’s hymn:
We may trust Christ fully all for us to do.
They who trust Jesus wholly find Him wholly true.
Prayer for Confidence in Christ
Protect us, Lord Jesus. You are our King, and we trust in You for safety. All the good things we have come from You. You, Lord, are all we have sometimes, and You give us all we need. Our future is in Your hands. Make us thankful and glad in You, and help us feel completely secure in You. You will not abandon us to the world of the dead. 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.9
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 See The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter March/April 1999. 3 Jer 10:10. 4 Mark 12:30, quoting Deut 6:5. 5 Pastor John Boys (1571–1625). 6 “Our God” song by Chris Tomlin, 2010. 7 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.” 8 John 16:33. 9 Prayer based on Psalm 16.