Then I said, "Lord, how long will this go on?" Isaiah 6:11a
In 1956, Elisabeth Elliot's life was turned upside down when her twenty-eight-year-old missionary husband, Jim, and four of his missionary friends were brutally murdered by a tribe of people in Ecuador, the very people they were trying to minister to. She was not yet thirty years old and had a ten-month-old daughter. During this time, Elisabeth must have felt extremely let down. After all, she and her husband had committed to serve God and sacrificed much to serve Him, and now she was a twenty-nine-year-old widow with a baby daughter to care for. As Elisabeth and the other wives of the men who were killed along with Jim met, they made a decision that no one would have expected. They went to Ecuador to the very tribe of people who killed their husbands. They decided that they would finish the mission that their husbands began. It did not matter the danger of the situation or the fear that they felt; they were committed to see the people of this tribe in Ecuador turn to Jesus.
When God calls us to share the good news of Jesus with other people, He makes no promise that it will be safe or easy. In fact, often He guarantees that it will be difficult. In Isaiah chapter 6, Isaiah committed to share God's message with the Israelites. After he committed to go, God told him that the people would not respond positively to his message. They would not understand or listen to Isaiah's message. In other words, this assignment would not be easy for Isaiah. It would involve much hardship and hard work, and he would see very little fruit for his labor. Isaiah could have given up and decided not to go spread God's message, but despite this news, Isaiah continued to be faithful to God and share His messages with the Israelites.
Sharing our faith can be intimidating, and we may often only want to share our faith when it is going to be easy. The truth, however, is that God does not call us to a life of ease. He calls us to share our faith, even when it is difficult. Elizabeth Elliot and the wives of the other four men knew this. That is why they went back to Ecuador and ministered to the people who murdered their husbands. Eventually, through these women, God moved among this tribe in Ecuador, and they eventually came to faith in Jesus. These women followed God's call, even when it was difficult and dangerous. They did this because they knew Jim Elliot's famous quote to be true: "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."
Elisabeth Elliot shared her faith in spite of danger and fear. When no one would have blamed her if she had stayed safely at home, she went to Ecuador. Our call today is to do the same. Has God put someone on your heart to share your faith with, but you are fearful to share? Commit today to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. Spend some time today on The Voice of the Martyrs' website, and read stories about Christians facing persecution for their faith While you read these stories, pray for those who are being persecuted and ask God to give you the same boldness of these men and women as you share your faith this week.
Read Isaiah 6:9-13 (NLT)
And he said, “Yes, go, and say to this people,
‘Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.’Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes.That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears,nor understand with their hearts and turn to me for healing.”
Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?”
And he replied,
“Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland;until the Lord has sent everyone away, and the entire land of Israel lies deserted.If even a tenth—a remnant—survive, it will be invaded again and burned.But as a terebinth or oak tree leaves a stump when it is cut down, so Israel’s stump will be a holy seed.”
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