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moreofHim
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Joined: 2003/10/15
Posts: 1632


 A Quiet Heart- A portrait of Jesus

I read this today from my devotional and it gave me such peace. That I can have a quiet heart as well, if I am trusting in a sovereign Lord.

[b]A Quiet Heart[/b]
Elisabeth Elliot

Jesus slept on a pillow in the midst of a raging storm. How could He? The terrified disciples, sure that the next wave would send them straight to the bottom, shook Him awake with rebuke. How could He be so careless of their fate?

He could because He slept in the calm assurance that His Father was in control. His was a quiet heart. We see Him move serenely through all the events of His life-when He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He knew that He would suffer many things and be killed in Jerusalem, He never deviated from His course. He had set His face like flint. He sat at supper with one who would deny Him and another who would betray Him, yet He was able to eat with them, willing even to wash their feet. Jesus in the unbroken intimacy of His Father's love, kept a quiet heart.

None of us possesses a heart so perfectly at rest, for none lives in such divine unity, but we can learn a little more each day of what Jesus knew-what one writer called the negligence of that trust which carries God with it. Who would think of using the word negligence in regard to our Lord Jesus? To be negligent is to omit to do what a reasonable man would do. Would Jesus omit that? Yes, on occasion, when faith pierced beyond reason.

This "negligent" trust-is it careless, inattentive, indolent? No, not in His case. Jesus, because His will was one with His Father's, could be free from care. He had the blessed assurance of knowing that His Father would do the caring, would be attentive to His Son's need. Was Jesus indolent? No, never lazy, sluggish, or slothful, but He knew when to take action and when to leave things up to His Father. He taught us to work and watch but never to worry, to do gladly whatever we are given to do, and to leave all else with God.

Purity of heart, said Kierkegaard, is to will one thing. The Son willed only one thing: the will of His Father. That's what He came to earth to do. Nothing else. One whose aim is as pure as that can have a completely quiet heart, knowing what the psalmist knew: "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup, and have made my lot secure" (Ps. 16:5 NIV). I know of no greater simplifier for all of life. Whatever happens is assigned. Does the intellect balk at that? Can we say that there are things which happen to us which do not belong to our lovingly assigned "portion" (This belongs to it, that does not")? Are some things, then, out of the control of the Almighty?

Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good. As I accept the given portion other options are canceled. Decisions become much easier, directions clearer, and hence my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter.

What do we really want in life? Sometimes I have the chance to ask this question of high school or college students. I am surprised at how few have a ready answer. Oh, they could come up with quite a long list of things, but is there one thing above all others that they desire? "One thing have I desired of the Lord," said David, "this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life..." (Ps. 27:4 KJV). To the rich young man who wanted eternal life Jesus said, "One thing you lack. Go, sell everything" (Mark 10:21 NIV). In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells us that the seed which is choked by thorns has fallen into a heart full of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things. The apostle Paul said, "One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 3:13-14 NIV).

A quiet heart is content with what God gives. It is enough. All is grace. One morning my computer simply would not obey me. What a nuisance. I had my work laid out, my timing figured, my mind all set. My work was delayed, my timing thrown off, my thinking interrupted. Then I remembered. It was not for nothing. This was part of the Plan (not mine, His). "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup."

Now if the interruption had been a human being instead of an infuriating mechanism, it would not have been so hard to see it as the most important part of the work of the day. But all is under my Father's control: yes, recalcitrant computers, faulty transmissions, drawbridges which happen to be up when one is in a hurry. My portion. My cup. My lot is secure. My heart can be at peace. My Father is in charge. How simple!

My assignment entails my willing acceptance of my portion-in matters far beyond comparison with the trivialities just mentioned, such as the death of a precious baby. A mother wrote to me of losing her son when he was just one month old. A widow writes of the long agony of watching her husband die. The number of years given them in marriage seemed too few. We can only know that Eternal Love is wiser than we, and we bow in adoration of that loving wisdom.

Response is what matters. Remember that our forefathers were all guided by the pillar of cloud, all passed through the sea, all ate and drank the same spiritual food and drink, but God was not pleased with most of them. Their response was all wrong. Bitter about the portions allotted they indulged in idolatry, gluttony, and sexual sin. And God killed them by snakes and by a destroying angel.

The same almighty God apportioned their experience. All events serve His will. Some responded in faith. Most did not.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor. 10:13 NIV).

Think of that promise and keep a quiet heart! Our enemy delights in disquieting us. Our Savior and Helper delights in quieting us. "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you" is His promise (Isa. 66:13, NIV). The choice is ours. It depends on our willingness to see everything in God, receive all from His hand, accept with gratitude just the portion and the cup He offers. Shall I charge Him with a mistake in His measurements or with misjudging the sphere in which I can best learn to trust Him? Has He misplaced me? Is He ignorant of things or people which, in my view, hinder my doing His will?

God came down and lived in this same world as a man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities, that we might be changed-not into an angel or a storybook princess, not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world. The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.
-Lina Sandell, Swedish

"A quiet heart is content with what God gives."


_________________
Chanin

 2005/6/1 8:40Profile
arielle
Member



Joined: 2004/1/15
Posts: 52
usa

 Re: A Quiet Heart- A portrait of Jesus

hello there :-)

great writing from elliot! i just came across this and thought it was similar...

in Christ,
arielle

[u][b]quietness in God - our true resource[/b][/u]

when it comes to accomplishing things for God, you will find that high aspirations, enthusiatic feelings, careful planning and being able to express yourself well are not worth very much. the important thing is absolute surrender to God. you can do anything He wants you to do if you are walking in the light of full surrender.

living in this blessed way involves a continual death which is known to very few, but it is in this postition that you can be really effective for God. a single word spoken to another person from this restful, abandoned position will do more to change circumstances than all our most eager and carefully planned schemes. you see, when you speak from this position of abandonment to God, it is the Spirit of God who is then speaking, and the word you speak out of context loses none of its force and authority. only one word perhaps- but it enlightens, persuades, blesses, and moves to action. we have accomplished everything, and have scarely said anything. on the other hand, if the old self gets in the way, we end up talking forever. we discuss a thousand different possibilities. we are constantly afraid of not saying or doing enough. we get angry, excited, exhausted, distracted, and finally make no headway at all.

i am saying this because i have noticed a tendency in you to talk about problems rather than abandoning yourself to God and leaving them with Him. and you will be better off both physically and spiritually when you quietly place everything in God's hands.

as the saying goes, "let the water flow beneath the bridge." you can't change men from being men. people will always be weak, vain, unreliable, unfair, hypocritical and arrogant. the world will always be worldly. and you cannot change it. people will follow their own inclinations and habits. and since you cannot recast their personalities, the best course of action is to let them be what they are and bear with them. do not allow yourself to be troubled and perplexed when you see people being unreasonable and unjust. rest in peace in the bosom of God. He sees it all more clearly than you do, and yet He permits it. so be content to do whatever you feel you should, [i]quietly and gently[/i] and don't worry about anything else.

~francois fenelon


_________________
arielle

 2005/6/1 18:20Profile





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