• “There’s a big difference between a life that’s a performance, and a life that’s an offering — One holds us captive. The other sets us free.” – Susie Larson

Elisabeth Elliot Quotes

“The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of christian,But the fact that I am a christian does make me a different kind of woman.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“Maturity starts with the willingness to give oneself.” — Elisabeth Elliot (Let Me Be a Woman)
“God never witholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God’s refusals are always merciful — “severe mercies” at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“The world looks for happiness through self-assertion. The Christian knows that joy is found in self-abandonment. ‘If a man will let himself be lost for My sake,’ Jesus said, ‘he will find his true self.’ A Christian woman’s true freedom lies on the other side of a very small gate—humble obedience—but that gate leads out into a largeness of life undreamed of by the liberators of the world, to a place where the God-given differentiation between the sexes is not obfuscated but celebrated, where our inequalities are seen as essential to the image of God, for it is in male and female, in male as male and female as female, not as two identical and interchangeable halves, that the image is manifested.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“There is nothing worth living for, unless it is worth dying for.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“We are women, and my plea is Let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me, receiving with both hands and with all my heart whatever that is.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“Of one thing I am perfectly sure: God’s story never ends with ‘ashes.” — Elisabeth Elliot (These Strange Ashes)
“To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss.” — Elisabeth Elliot (These Strange Ashes)
“Faith’s most severe tests come not when we see nothing, but when we see a stunning array of evidence that seems to prove our faith vain.” — Elisabeth Elliot (These Strange Ashes)
“Often a Christian man or woman falls prey to that cruel and vexatious spirit, wondering how to find marriage, who, when, where? It is on God that we should wait, as a waiter waits–not for but on the customer–alert, watchful, attentive, with no agenda of his own, ready to do whatever is wanted. ‘My sould, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.’ (Ps. 62:5 KJV) In Him alone lie our security, our confidence, our trust. A spirit of restlessness and resistance can never wait, but one who believes he is loved with an everlasting love, and knows that underneath are the everlasting arms, will find strength and peace.” — Elisabeth Elliot (Quest for Love: True Stories of Passion and Purity)
“Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“One does not surrender a life in an instant. That which is lifelong can only be surrendered in a lifetime.” — Elisabeth Elliot
“It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping place.” — Elisabeth Elliot
I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God. – Elisabeth Elliot
Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure. – Elisabeth Elliot
There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them, “why?” is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for His meaning, or whether it is the challenge of unbelief and rebellion. – Elisabeth Elliot
Where does your security lie? Is God your refuge, your hiding place, you stronghold, your shepherd, your counselor, your friend, your redeemer, your saviour, your guide? If He is, you don’t need to search any further for security.- Elisabeth Elliot

Lonely? Give it to Jesus. The loneliness itself is material for sacrifice. -Elisabeth Elliot

“A broken heart is a reminder of our only source of power.” – Elisabeth Elliot

There is something that pretends to be christianity which is mostly mood. The measure of its faith is merely the measure of its feeling. – Elisabeth Elliot

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 up 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. -Elisabeth Elliot

Do you often feel like parched ground, unable to produce anything worthwhile? I do. When I am in need of refreshment, it isn’t easy to think of the needs of others. But I have found that if, instead of praying for my own comfort and satisfaction, I ask the Lord to enable me to give to others, an amazing thing often happens – I find my own needs wonderfully met. Refreshment comes in ways I would never have thought of, both for others, and then, incidentally, for myself.

The God who created, names and numbers the stars in the heavens also numbers the stars of my head. He pays attention to very big things and to very small ones. What matters to me matters to Him, and that changes my life.

When ours are interrupted, His are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable) “toward the goal of true maturity” (Rom 12:2 JBP). -Elisabeth Elliot

“I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God.”

“There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them, “why?” is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for His meaning, or whether it is the challenge of unbelief and rebellion.”

““A broken heart is a reminder of our only source of power.”

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 up 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.- Elisabeth Elliot

“Loneliness is a required course for leadership.” -Elisabeth Elliot

The will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. It may seem to be much worse, but in the end it’s going to be a lot better and a lot bigger. –Elisabeth Elliot

The modern cult of personality makes submission a degrading thing. We are told we cannot be “whole persons” if we submit. Obedience is thought of as restrictive and therefore bad. “Freedom” is defined as the absence of restraint, quite the opposite from the scriptural principle embodied in Jesus’ words, “If you continue in my words, then are ye my disciples, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Freedom in God’s view always lies on the far side of discipline, which means obedience . . . To attempt to apply democratic ideals to the kingdom of God, which is clearly hierarchical, can result only in a loss of power and ultimately in destruction. Christ Himself, the Servant and Son, accepted limitation and restriction. He subjected Himself. He learned obedience (Elliot, Elisabeth, “Why I Oppose the Ordination of Women,” Christianity Today 880 [1975]: p. 13).

Lead me, Lord, to the Rock that is higher than I. Let me hear your word, give me grace to obey, to build steadily, stone upon stone, day by day, to do what You say. Establish my heart where floods have no power to overwhelm, for Christ’s sake. Amen. ~Elisabeth Elliot

If we do anything to further the kingdom of God, we may expect to find what Christ found on that road – abuse, indifference, injustice, misunderstanding, trouble of some kind. Take it. Why not? To that you were called. If we think of the glorious fact that we are on the same path with Jesus, we might see a rainbow. – Elisabeth Elliot

?”Psychology describes. The Bible prescribes. ‘Turn from evil. Let that be the medicine to keep you in health.’ Pr 3:7,8.” – Elisabeth Elliot

“PEACE does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to ‘wait trustfully and quietly on Him’ who has all things safely in His hands.” ~ Elisabeth Elliot

“Worry is the antithesis of trust. You simply cannot do both. They are mutually exclusive.”

“Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them”

“…my plea is let me be a woman, holy through and through, asking for nothing but what God wants to give me” – Elisabeth Elliot

“Sometimes life is so hard you can only do the next thing.Whatever that is just do the next thing.God will meet you there.” Elizabeth Elliot

“I seek the lessons God wants to teach me, and that means that I ask why.” – Elisabeth Elliot

Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure. – Elisabeth Elliot

“If you are married, then accept that. Accept the husband that God has given you. If you are single, accept your singleness and take it as if today was the last day of your life. Don’t be looking constantly to the future.

I remember what Jim wrote to me in one of his letters: “Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living.” And I think there are a lot of single womenwho are allowing their longing to slay the appetite of their living. They are not throwing their heart and soul into the will of God for today, because they are simply dying inside for something that God has not given them.”

– Elisabeth Elliot

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6 Responses to Elisabeth Elliot Quotes

  • Christine DeLoatch says:

    What a joy and honor reading these quotes has been. I will not bore any with the tiny facets of my sacrifices, but just want to say that these words have touched me in my time of need and will allow me to continue the blessing of encourgaging young women that I have been called to. Christ's blessings to all.

    • womenof7 says:

      Thank you for sharing Christine. Elisabeth Elliot is great example for us to glean from. She really loved the Lord more than anything else in this world, even her own comfort and "things".

  • Heather Gonzalez says:

    I love these life defining quotes. They speak such deep truths about Christ and the purpose of living. I am so grateful for them

  • Rani says:

    Praise God for such words of Wisdom .Thanking the Lord for women like them who given up their life for the Kingdom of God All Glory to Jesus

  • julie warmate says:

    Every since I heard about my darling Elizabeth Eliot my life has experience some of the most lovely and pureness I have ever known. I enjoy the stories of your most beloved husband Jim Eliot and he wisdom. And knowledge that you personally experience in this life time that you was able to enjoy for only a short time but I know he is waiting to see you. There our home at home with JESUS CHRIST. I HAVE LEARN SO MUCH ABOUT LOVE FROM YOU. YOUR EVERY WORD CLINGS TO MY HEART THANK YOU MRS ELIOT. AND MAY GOD RICHES BLESSING ALWAYS BE YOUR IN JESUS' NAME LOVE YOU JULIE FROM ALVIN TX MY GRANDDAUGHTER MS B LOVE TO LISTEN TO U VERY MUCH. YOUR QUOTES ARE VERY WELL SPOKEN

  • Collette Diez says:

    I have been searching to try to find Elisabeth Elliot's quote abut seeing our husband with God's eyes. What the world calls rose colored glasses she said we were given His vision to see what he was becoming: his potential. But I cannot find it.

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  • “Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.” – Betty Scott Stam, 20th Century Martyr

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For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, — 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NKJV)

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