Elisabeth Elliot: I think that it touches very closely on our pride. We think that we've arrived somehow, somewhere; and the Lord is teaching us that up until the very moment when He calls us home, He is our teacher. Are you willing to be taught?

Lisa Barry: All this week we've been on the road with Elisabeth Elliot in Omaha, Nebraska, where she spoke to a large group of women on encountering the Cross. So far we've learned the importance of giving God control of our lives, and the testing that comes to strengthen our faith. She'll end our series today with a reminder that in acceptance lieth peace, that's next on Gateway To Joy.

Elisabeth Elliot: And now, in order to learn acceptance, we need to be teachable. Teachable from some sources and not from others? Most of us are willing to be taught by certain people, but we sure don't want other people telling us what to do. I mean you came today, presumably, because you were willing to listen to what Elisabeth Elliot might dish out, but there are a whole lot of people that you would certainly not want to be correcting you, right? Let's be honest. I don't want my husband correcting me very much, and he has many occasions when he needs to. And I by no means am always gracious in the way I accept it, but the Lord is reminding me that I have to be teachable.

Let's look at Philippians 4:11-13. Let me start at 10. He says, "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I'm not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances." Where was he when he wrote that?

In prison, chained (scholars tell us) by two soldiers, one on each side, day and night. A miserable, stinking, perhaps cold or perhaps rat-infested or cockroach-infested dungeon, and Paul says, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in every and all situations, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." And then in verse 13 this ringing testimony: "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

I don't know what your situation may be right now. Something that you feel as though you need to get out of? But God is still in the process of teaching us. He has tremendous patience, tremendous love. And only God knows what trials and tribulations we need in order to be made teachable. I think that it touches very closely on our pride. You know we think that we've arrived somehow, somewhere; and the Lord is teaching us that up until the very moment when He calls us home, He is our teacher. Are you willing to be taught?

Think about how willing you are to accept the situations of your life. Are you able to say with honesty, "Yes, Lord. Do anything that you want with me"? A willingness, a total, all encompassing "Yes, Lord"? What did He say to you this morning? I don't know what it might have been. Something before you got out of bed, something while you were fixing breakfast, something while you were coming here, something since you got here, undoubtedly something which will help to make you a little bit more teachable.

Did you ever stop to think about that verse in Hebrews that says, "Jesus learned obedience by the things which He suffered"? Almighty God the creator of the universe, learned obedience. He was teachable. And when He was only 12 years old, He realized that He had reached the point of manhood. I would just like to put in a parenthesis here that any of you who have children who are under 12, be preparing them for that watershed which is the age of 12. I have no patience whatsoever with the whole teenage idea.

The word teenage was not invented until 1950. Did you know that? So I was never a teenager. None of the kids in my family were ever allowed to be teenagers, because nobody had ever thought of that word. And now we just take it for granted, oh boy, once they get into the teens you just never know what's going to happen next and you just have to sort of forget all about them until they're 20, you know, because they're going to go wild. I'm serious when I say you need to coach your children up to that point of 12, at which point in any Christian home every child already knows very well what the rules of the house are. He doesn't have to wait till he's 12 to know that, but by the time they're 12. Then they must be about their father's business.

And you remember that Joseph and Mary thought that Jesus was in the retinue as they were leaving Jerusalem to go back home, and suddenly they discovered after three days that Jesus was not with them. They went back, they found Him standing in the temple absolutely confounding the teachers of the law. And Mary chided Him and she said, "You have dealt badly with us. We have been sorrowing, looking for you." And I can imagine that 12-year-old boy looking up at His mother or perhaps down, probably down at His mother, and He said, "Didn't you know that I must be about my Father's business?"

Does your 12-year-old know that he or she must be about his father's business? Let's start over if you've already made a mess of the teenage years. Go home, have a family confab and just say, "Look, we've been doing some things wrong. We're going to start over and we are going to expect you to behave like adults." Wow! I can imagine you're going to go out of here saying, "Did you hear what Elisabeth Elliot said? And she's only got one child. She doesn't know what it's like." I grew up in a family of six. My parents did a pretty good job, I think, of making it perfectly clear that we could not kick over the traces just because we'd reached teenage.

What did Jesus say to you this morning? What are you going to do about it? Are you, for example, a complainer? We're talking now about acceptance. Most of us can think of things we'd like to complain about. And I have here a short list of some of the things, which might be complaints.

Do not allow yourself to complain about anything at all, even the weather. Now who of us could say that we're innocent of ever complaining about anything at all? Don't allow yourself to complain about anything at all.

Number two, never let your imagination run away in useless wishing that you were where you aren't.

Number three, make no odious comparisons. Don't make any odious comparisons.

Number four, never dwell on what might have been. Thank God for the present, for what is. That's all part of number four. Never dwell on what might have been. Thank God for what is.

Number five, remember that tomorrow doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God. And that is one of the most calming principles in my life. I have too many things to do. Anybody here that says you've got too much to do, we've all got too much to do. We've got too many things that we would love to do and too many things that we know we have to do and too many things that we know we're not going to be able to do, so never dwell on what might have been. Thank God for the present, for what is. Remember, number five, remember that tomorrow doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God.

You've all heard the statement, "We don't know what the future holds, but we know the One who holds the future." And I am almost certain that it was my father that wrote those words. My father was a writer and an editor of a Christian magazine and it seems to me that there was a time when he actually told me that that's where it came from. It doesn't matter who said it, but it's true. We don't know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future.

Someone has said that the heaviest part of sorrow is to look forward to it. I think that's a lesson God did begin to teach me when my second husband was dying of cancer. We knew what most people know. When you get cancer, ultimately the chances are pretty good that you're going to die. So we began to learn in that experience that the heaviest part of sorrow was to look forward to it. If we tried faithfully and quietly and calmly to do what God had given us to do for just this one day, we discovered that we always had the strength for this day.

You don't have the strength for tomorrow. You don't have the strength for anything that's going to happen after today. It will be there when it's time. God will be there, and He's already there, isn't He? He's behind us, and with us, and before us, and surrounding us, and He's asking us, "Have you accepted this situation?" In acceptance lies peace. The heaviest part of sorrow is to look forward to it. "Well, I'm getting along okay today, but oh boy, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Some of you young people may have an exam coming up. Your husbands may have something difficult that you're going to have to face, that you are wishing you could put off. The Lord will provide and in acceptance lies peace.

Lisa Barry: I hope you were able to get that list of helpful suggestions that Elisabeth offered a few minutes ago. But if not, we always have a copy of today's program available on tape. Just ask for the series entitled "Encountering the Cross." I'd also like to encourage you to tell a friend about Gateway To Joy. I know many of you gain strength from this program, and you could multiply that result by sharing what you've learned with others.

Gateway To Joy is a partnership effort. It's not just radio people making a lot of noise in a community. It's really about people like you who want others to benefit in the same way you have from the teaching you get here. You'll never know who those people are, but your financial investment makes it possible for Gateway To Joy to reach people all across this country and even overseas. Now doesn't that seem like a worthwhile investment? I hope we'll hear from you today. Here's our address:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE 68501. That's Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE 68501. Or, call toll-free 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. A third option is our Web site, gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible, and people like you make it possible.

Monday, Elisabeth begins a powerful series on divorce. So make it a point to join us then for the next Gateway To Joy.