Learning the Father's Love

I've picked up one of my favorite authors again, Elizabeth Elliot. Those of you who've been following this blog for more than a couple of years more than likely will remember my slight obsession with Elizabeth, and I've decided that it's time to reacquaint myself with the wisdom that she has to share. I picked up one of my all time favorite books of hers, "Keep a Quiet Heart," which is kind of what I need at the moment. Oftentimes, things come flying at us or we're caught in the midst of someone else's life falling apart......and that can cause our hearts and minds to be all aflutter, all of the time. Worry, grief, fear can surround us, when there's really nothing we can do to remedy the situation- except pour out our hearts in fervent prayer on behalf of that other person. Elizabeth Elliot has a life- time of trials, tribulations, and triumphs in her writing and I just wanted to share a couple from this morning's reading:

From the writing, "Why is God doing this to me?":
1.We need to be pruned
2.We need to be refined

"Gold is precious, but it has to go through the fire to be refined. Faith is even more precious than gold, and will always have another test to stand."

From the writing, "Learning the Father's Love":
"Learning to pray is learning to trust the wisdom, the power, and the love of the Heavenly Father, always so far beyond our dreams. He knows our need and knows ways to meet it that have never entered our heads. Things we feel sure we need for happiness may actually lead to our ruin. Things that we think will ruin us, if we believe what the Father tells us and surrender ourselves into His strong arms, being us deliverance and joy. The only escape from self-love is self-surrender. My Fathers knows far better than I do what will bring me joy."

"When I resist, I cheat myself. When I yield, I find joy."