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    Suffering Is Never for Nothing
    Suffering Is Never for Nothing
    Suffering Is Never for Nothing
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    Suffering Is Never for Nothing

    By Elisabeth Elliot

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    About this ebook

    Hard times come for all in life, with no real explanation. When we walk through suffering, it has the potential to devastate and destroy, or to be the gateway to gratitude and joy.

    Elisabeth Elliot was no stranger to suffering. Her first husband, Jim, was murdered by the Waoroni people in Ecuador moments after he arrived in hopes of sharing the gospel. Her second husband was lost to cancer. Yet, it was in her deepest suffering that she learned the deepest lessons about God.

    Why doesn’t God do something about suffering? He has, He did, He is, and He will.

    Suffering and love are inexplicably linked, as God’s love for His people is evidenced in His sending Jesus to carry our sins, griefs, and sufferings on the cross, sacrificially taking what was not His on Himself so that we would not be required to carry it. He has walked the ultimate path of suffering, and He has won victory on our behalf.

    This truth led Elisabeth to say, “Whatever is in the cup that God is offering to me, whether it be pain and sorrow and suffering and grief along with the many more joys, I’m willing to take it because I trust Him.”

    Because suffering is never for nothing.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBH Publishing Group
    Release dateFeb 1, 2019
    ISBN9781535914161
    Author

    Elisabeth Elliot

    Elisabeth Elliot (1926-2015) was one of the most perceptive and popular Christian writers of the last century. The author of more than twenty books, including Passion and Purity, The Journals of Jim Elliot, and These Strange Ashes, Elliot offered guidance and encouragement to millions of readers worldwide. For more information about Elisabeth's books, visit ElisabethElliot.org.

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    Reviews for Suffering Is Never for Nothing

    5/5

    54 ratings10 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a blessing and highly recommended. It speaks to the heart and provides practical reminders about suffering. The writing is articulate and profound, offering a new perspective on suffering. Many readers love everything about this book and consider it worth reading multiple times. It is recommended for anyone, not just those undergoing suffering.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Excellent! She articulated so clearly some of the lessons I’m learning in my own journey of grief. So much wisdom here!
    • 5/5
      I love Elisabeth's writing! Articulate and so needed! Gives a whole new perspective to suffering.
    • 5/5
      This is my second time reading this book. It hits home this time as I've experienced a devastating loss myself.
    • 5/5
      This spoke to my heart. Thank you so much! Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      Elizabeth retired so many wonderful things, and this book is no exception. As a person who struggled with physical health issues that affect every area of my life, this is such a blessing. Steps on my toes and makes me thankful for what I DO have with so many practical reminders that my suffering is never for nothing.
    • 5/5
      A book worth reading quarterly. Loved everything about it. ❤️
    • 5/5
      One of the best books I’ve ever read on suffering.

      Highly recommend it to all, not only those undergoing suffering.
    • 5/5
      The perspective with which she writes is honest and profound.
    • 5/5
      If you can’t stop throwing a pity party, read this book!
    • 5/5
      A phenomenally encouraging book on suffering and God's faithfulness through it. I wish I could buy 1,000 copies and just give it away to hurting friends and family. This book really spoke to me and will be a reread in coming years.

    Book preview

    Suffering Is Never for Nothing - Elisabeth Elliot

    Other Works by Elisabeth Elliot

    Through Gates of Splendor

    Shadow of the Almighty

    The Journals of Jim Elliot

    These Strange Ashes

    Let Me be a Woman

    The Mark of a Man

    Discipline: The Glad Surrender

    Be Still My Soul

    Passion and Purity

    A Lamp for my Feet

    On Asking God Why

    A Path Through Suffering

    God’s Guidance

    A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael

    The Shaping of a Christian Family

    Keep a Quiet Heart

    Quest for Love

    The Music of His Promises

    Secure in the Everlasting Arms

    No Graven Image

    Path of Loneliness

    Copyright by Elisabeth Elliot Gren

    All rights reserved.

    Printed in the United States of America

    978-1-5359-1415-4

    Published by B&H Publishing Group

    Nashville, Tennessee

    The publisher thanks Margaret.

    Dewey Decimal Classification: 248.84

    Subject Heading: FAITH / SUFFERING / DISCIPLESHIP

    Scripture references marked kjv are taken from the King James Version, public domain.

    Scripture references marked nkjv are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture references marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

    Scripture references marked rsv are taken from the Revised Standard Version, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Scripture references marked niv are taken from the New International Version, copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

    Scripture references marked nrsv are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    Vector leaf art courtesy of VectorStock.

    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 • 22 21 20 19

    Foreword

    For centuries we’ve heard that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church, and the blood of Jim Elliot certainly overflowed the ink wells into which Elisabeth dipped her pen. She gave us invigorating martyr-words that inspired generations of courageous missionaries to take the gospel into foreboding jungles, deserts, and cities great and small. She also gave those same words to inspire us. Especially when suffering hit us broadside.

    I was first introduced to Elisabeth Elliot in 1965 when, in high school, I read her book Through Gates of Splendor. I had no idea that right after graduation and a diving accident, I would enter those dark valleys about which Elisabeth wrote. I then met her years later in 1976 when we were both speakers at a conference in Canada. I was only twenty-six with less than a decade under my belt as a quadriplegic, and I could hardly believe I was sharing the same plenary platform with this saint of the age.

    One evening, she came to my hotel room. As Elisabeth sat on the edge of my bed, we opened our hearts and shared how God had remained so faithful to us through so much suffering. We agreed that no one participates in God’s joy without first tasting the afflictions of His Son. And before she left, she smiled and said, Suffering is never for nothing, Joni. It was so Elisabethan, and I thought I understood what she meant. After all, nine years of quadriplegia had made me take seriously the lordship of Christ in my life, refining my faith, and giving me a deeper interest in prayer and the Word.

    Two years later, I even wrote about these things in a book. I was pleased with my list of the thirty-five good biblical reasons as to why God allows affliction and what you can learn from it! I asked Elisabeth if she would offer an endorsement, which she did. But in her cover letter, she confessed that although the book was very satisfactory, it was a bit technical. Her comment crushed me. It took a few more years of quadriplegia, and the encroachment of chronic pain to help me see there was more—much more—to suffering than learning its theological background and benefits.

    Elisabeth Elliot knew that true maturity, joy, and contentment has less to do with a mechanistic assessment of God’s plan, and more to do with being pushed and, at times shoved, against the breast of your Savior. Not a tidy, orderly list, but an earnest grappling with the angel of the Lord. When affliction decimates you, then you understand Elisabeth’s doctrine: The Bible’s answers are never to be separated from the God of the Bible. That rich truth then guided me through more than fifty years of paralysis, pain, and cancer.

    We are invigorated by Elisabeth’s no-nonsense, go-out-and-die way of living the Christian life. She made us see that we are on a fierce battlefield upon which the mightiest forces of the universe converge in warfare. And we happily rise to that challenge, totally energized by this remarkable woman’s exalted vision for the church. Her life and writings are food and drink to those whom God places upon altars of affliction.

    And now with Suffering Is Never for Nothing, we have another collection of fresh, insightful writings from which to be nourished. Thankfully, although our friend is now in heaven, more of her material is now available to spur us on in the battle. The book you hold in your hands is a wonderful new portfolio of Elisabeth’s ponderings, and as you peruse each page, imagine Elisabeth looking over your shoulder from the grandstands of heaven, encouraging you to embrace the Lord Jesus in your afflictions.

    Let our friend show you how suffering is never for nothing. Linger long on this woman’s sage wisdom, for there are epiphanies yet to dawn on your horizon, showing you even brighter excellencies of Jesus and more astounding beauties of His gospel. Let the timeless truths in this brand new book spur you on. Take to heart her words and one day when together we pass through heaven’s gates, they will indeed be splendorous.

    Joni Eareckson Tada

    Joni and Friends International Disability Center

    Spring 2019

    Publisher’s Preface

    Elisabeth Elliot died on June 15, 2015 at her home in Magnolia, Massachusetts. At the time of her death, she had suffered dementia for many years and was undoubtedly ready to go be with the Savior of whom she taught so many so faithfully. I know that she did this because she taught me. I didn’t have the opportunity to meet her until late in her life, when dementia had already stolen her voice, but her words will always be seared in my heart and mind.

    Hear the call of God to be a woman. Obey that call. Turn your energies to service. Whether your service is to be to a husband and through him and the family and home God gives you to serve the world, or whether you should remain, in the providence of God, single in order to serve the world without the solace of husband, home, and family, you will know fullness of life, fullness of liberty, and (I know whereof I speak) fullness of joy.

    That quote, from Let Me Be a Woman, is one of hundreds that have challenged, encouraged, frustrated, and led me in my walk with God. Having not grown up in the church, I didn’t learn of Elisabeth Elliot until she was already in declining health and had stopped publishing and recording her radio program. I was first exposed to her ministry in Through Gates of Splendor and I was quickly hooked on her writing.

    Years later, as a publisher, I met a close friend of Elisabeth’s. This friend had been discipled by Elisabeth for several years and a deep friendship had developed prior to her illness. This friend knew that I had been shaped by her books and had consumed all the teaching content I could find, so she sent me a gift that has borne much fruit. It was a set of six CDs that were called Suffering Is Not for Nothing. I listened to these CDs and was amazed. Not only was it, I thought, perhaps her best content ever, it was some of the best teaching content I’d ever heard from anyone. I was able to get some additional copies of the CDs, which I gave to several close friends as gifts, and they all raved about the influence of the content on their lives as well.

    Years went by, and I never stopped thinking about the clarity of the teaching on suffering

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