Quotes from Elisabeth Elliot

Well that sounds pretty brave and strong, doesn't it? But listen to the last stanza, "But not of us this strength, O Lord, and not of us this constancy. Our trust is Thine eternal Word, Thy presence our security.

When we wonder how God will do a thing this may spring from spiritual lust: I must have an explanation! We demand an answer when we ought to pray for a deeper confidence in Him who is the Answer. A simple heart, full of love for God, will soon learn what to do. Questions will be quieted.

God is in the business of making us walking, breathing examples of the invisible reality of the presence of Christ in us.

I want to be free of self-pity. It is a tool of Satan to rot away a life.

Like the sparrow, I've got a song to sing. Unlike the sparrow, I must sing mine by faith.

Lord, deliver me from the urge to open my mouth when I should shut it. Give me the wisdom to keep silent where silence is wise. Remind me that not everything needs to be said, and that there are very few things that need to be said by me.

Strange—or is it?—that childish hopes should be answered in the will of God for this now?

It is natural indeed. However it's not the only thing God has in mind for us. We are not meant to live merely by what is natural. We need to learn to live by the supernatural. Ordinary fare will not fill the emptiness in our hearts...

The Indian himself must be the answer—he must learn the Scriptures, be taught, and in turn teach his own people. To this end Pete and Jim reopened the missionary school at Shandia that Dr. Tidmarsh had been forced to close. Here in a one-room schoolhouse the youngsters of the community were taught to read and write so that ultimately they could read the Scriptures for themselves.

We had a little brass plate over the front doorbell that said "Christ is the head of this home, the unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.

When our plans are interrupted, His are not. God's plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always - including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable - toward the goal of true maturity.

A missionary plods through the first year or two, thinking that things will be different when he speaks the language. He is baffled to find, frequently, that they are not.