Keep a Quiet Heart

The need to have a deep peace in my heart at all times has been on my mind for some time now. As a child of God, there is no reason for me to get up tight and worry about things. God is in control of all things, and all He does in my life is for my good. Ps. 37: 7-8 says, "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; ...... Do not fret--it only causes harm." I recently found the book Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot. Here is a short chapter that really stood out to me.

"Be quiet, why this anxious heed

About thy tangled ways?

God knows them all, He giveth speed,

And He allows delays." -E. W.

Nevertheless We Must Run Aground

Have you ever put heart and soul into something, prayed over it, worked at it with a good heart because you believed it to be what God wanted, and finally seen it "run aground"?

The story of Paul's voyage as a prisoner across the Adriatic Sea tells how an angel stood beside him and told him not to be afraid (in spite of winds of hurricane force), for God would spare his life and the lives of all with him on board ship. Paul cheered his guards and fellow passengers with that word, but added, "Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island" (Acts 27:26, NIV).

It would seem that the God who promises to spare all hands might have "done the job right," saved the ship as well, and spared them the ignominy of having to make it to land on the flotsam and jetsam that was left. The fact is He did not, nor does He always spare us.

Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.

"Running aground," then, is not the end of the world. But it helps to make the world a bit less appealing. It may even be God's answer to "Lead us not into temptation"--the temptation complacently to settle for visible things. -Elisabeth Elliot

So, here I am, and I am determined to wait for His timing with joy and peace, even if the dream and calling He has given me runs aground! God help me!