Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 25-28

Several months ago I came across a Youtube video about a very inspiring Christian author and speaker named Elisabeth Elliot. Elisabeth was married to a missionary named Jim Elliot. In 1956, Jim Elliot and 4 other men were killed by a very savage tribe Auca of Ecuador. They were killed while attempting to evangelize to the Auca.

When Elisabeth learned about her husband's death, she kept praying to God to give her strength to go on living and serving others who need to know God. She continued to spend 2 years as a missionary to the tribe members who killed her husband while raising her young daughter, Valerie.

Elisabeth kept her faith and continued to obey God till the day she died. She never stop reaching out to the loss and serving others from the day she learned about her husband's death. One of her contributions was serving as a consultant for the committee of the NIV bible and she actually appears on the NIV's list of contributors.

I feel very inspired by Elisabeth's faith in God. She never failed to obey God even when she faced some very tough struggles in life. Many people, myself included would go into despair and doubt God when facing challenges in life. We would start to blame God, demand for answers, stop doing our quiet time and maybe even stop believing in God and finally not coming to church anymore.

Reference image source

My family and I are going through some tough challenges this year. To be honest, I feel so tempted to just give up on everything and just go somewhere to hide until all problems solved themselves. But through Elisabeth's example of faith, I learned that even when life doesn't go our way, we must always believe that God is all-knowing and good at all times. God knows every little detail of our lives and he knows our situations and struggles. Through Elisabeth, I learned that our obedience to God does not stop when life is difficult. Regardless what our situations in life - good or bad - we are commanded by God to obey. For me, obedience means continue to respect my husband as the Bible commanded. It means continue to read the Bible and pray with my children. It means do my quiet time daily. It means continue to reach out to friends. It means continue to serve in the church. It means continue to live in fearful obedience to God. I should not stop doing all these things just because life is difficult.

Elisabeth Elliot's faith reminded me of Jesus. In Matthew 20: 26-28 it says:

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus knew right from the beginning that he would die on the cross. But this knowledge did not stop him from obeying God. Throughout his life on earth, Jesus continued to reach out to people around him and obey God wholeheartedly. He didn't live his life in despair and self-pity just because he knew in advance how he would die. Indeed, Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and to sacrifice himself on the cross so our sins can be forgiven and we have an opportunity to have a relationship with our Almighty Father.

Elisabeth Elliot Memorial Service Tribute Video:

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