MORNING MANNA 6-19-23
TRUSTING THROUGH TROUBLE
Most Christians are familiar with the story of Jim Elliot, but many fail to consider the remarkable woman to whom he was married. Here is just a bit of her story as told by Dr. Bob Griffin:
Along with four other women, Elisabeth Elliot waited by a short-wave radio for what must have seemed like an eternity, listening for a message from their husbands, who had taken a flight into hostile Indian territory. The young couples had been trying to reach the Auca Indians in Ecuador with the gospel.
When no message was received, a search party was sent out after the men, and eventually the dreadful truth was discovered. The young missionaries were found lying face-down in the river, killed by the
poisoned lances of the Indians.
This terrible happening had not been on Elisabeth’s agenda. She and her husband Jim had been looking forward to a missionary career together. Now her whole world had crashed around her.
Elisabeth discovered she had a choice. She could resign herself to the situation and return home with her young daughter, or she could ask the Lord, “In what redemptive way can You use this?” Elisabeth chose to trust God to do something positive with the negatives. And she decided to become part of the action.
She and her young daughter, and Rachel Saint (Nate Saint’s sister) bravely set off into the jungle and found the tribe that had killed Jim and Nate. The women were well received, and allowed to make their home among the Indians. After the Bible was translated and the gospel shared, many in the tribe turned to Christ.
Later, Nate and Marge Saint’s daughter Kathie was baptized in the river where her daddy had died. Truly God had used that particular situation in a redemptive way!
God wants US to buy up the opportunities that come our way as we learn to TRUST HIM and to use the troubles as a springboard for action.
Trusting God brings a certain element of hope to our hearts – a confident expectation that all is not lost and that there IS something redeemable in the most awful situations. This trust is a tenacious spiritual insistence that God can be trusted, not only to be totally and thoroughly aware of our dilemmas, but also to be in control, and already taking eternal measures to work out His eternal purposes!
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
