As I thought about who she was and what her voice has meant to my life, I was convicted that I don't often take the time to truly acknowledge and appreciate the people that the Lord uses to teach me about himself. I felt a deep thankfulness stirring in my soul, and therefore compelled to share what Elisabeth Elliot meant to me.
Elliot's writing found me in my freshman year of college, in a time when I had begun to discern a longing in my heart for a relationship.
In high school, I decided early on that dating during that season of life wouldn't be for me. And I lived (mostly) contentedly in that freedom, thankful for the richness of friendships that high school brought because my focus had not been on dating. I was also thankful for the chance to got to know guys my age as brothers in Christ.
But as I entered college, I knew this season was changing, that I desired a relationship, and that it was becoming very present on my heart and mind. I had started to view friendships with guys differently, thinking: what if this or that guy is the guy?
I knew that I needed to think and process these desires in a biblical way, that I wanted to understand contentment in the midst of a new season, and I started looking for resources that could be helpful. I'm not sure how I stumbled upon it, but somehow I got a copy of Passion and Purity in my hands, and I couldn't put it down.
I was already familiar with Elisabeth Elliot from reading Shadow of the Almighty a few years prior. I had read of Jim Elliot's deep life of faith and desire to bring the gospel to the nations. I also knew some of her story-- she had continued that mission to the very people that had killed her husband, seeing many of the same tribe come to faith in Christ.
I was already familiar with Elisabeth Elliot from reading Shadow of the Almighty a few years prior. I had read of Jim Elliot's deep life of faith and desire to bring the gospel to the nations. I also knew some of her story-- she had continued that mission to the very people that had killed her husband, seeing many of the same tribe come to faith in Christ.
But Passion and Purity revealed more of Elisabeth Elliot to me. It quickly became clear to me that she had such a rich life with the Lord. I had expected a (probably cheesy) book with some practical advice about contentment and relationships and purity. Instead, what I experienced was a deeper understanding of the heart of God and what it looks like to faithfully submit to His will.
Elliot had a way of being so honest about her struggles and longings that drew me in, but she consistently and faithfully submitted them to God. It didn't mean that waiting on the Lord's will was easy for her, or that her flesh didn't fight against it, but rather that she sought obedience over the fulfillment of her fleshly desires, and found a great refuge in communing with the Lord.
She talked a lot about how the Lord refines us and draws us to himself as we bring our thoughts and struggles and longings to him. "The deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by his letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done."
"When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him. If I can say yes to that question, can't I say yes to pleasing Him? Can't I say yes even if it means a sacrifice? A little quiet reflection will remind me that yes to God always leads in the end to joy. We can absolutely bank on that."
These thoughts (and several more!) served as a powerful example for me. Of course, namely at the time I applied them to my desire to find contentment in singleness, or godliness in a relationship. But ever since my first reading of Passion and Purity, I have revisited it several times. While Elliot's story in this particular work centers around the Lord's will for her relationship with Jim, it also told a larger story of longing, of sacrifice, of sanctification and deeper pursuit of God.
I will always be thankful for the life and faith of Elisabeth Elliot. I will not forget the important ways that God used her in my own life, drawing me to deeper love and thankfulness to Him.
Elliot had a way of being so honest about her struggles and longings that drew me in, but she consistently and faithfully submitted them to God. It didn't mean that waiting on the Lord's will was easy for her, or that her flesh didn't fight against it, but rather that she sought obedience over the fulfillment of her fleshly desires, and found a great refuge in communing with the Lord.
She talked a lot about how the Lord refines us and draws us to himself as we bring our thoughts and struggles and longings to him. "The deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by his letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done."
"When obedience to God contradicts what I think will give me pleasure, let me ask myself if I love Him. If I can say yes to that question, can't I say yes to pleasing Him? Can't I say yes even if it means a sacrifice? A little quiet reflection will remind me that yes to God always leads in the end to joy. We can absolutely bank on that."
These thoughts (and several more!) served as a powerful example for me. Of course, namely at the time I applied them to my desire to find contentment in singleness, or godliness in a relationship. But ever since my first reading of Passion and Purity, I have revisited it several times. While Elliot's story in this particular work centers around the Lord's will for her relationship with Jim, it also told a larger story of longing, of sacrifice, of sanctification and deeper pursuit of God.
I will always be thankful for the life and faith of Elisabeth Elliot. I will not forget the important ways that God used her in my own life, drawing me to deeper love and thankfulness to Him.
