Lisa Barry: What would it take to make you really content? Most of us would think of a change in circumstances. Things like getting that promotion at work, winning a sweepstakes, reconciling a relationship or some other remedy. But as we'll find out today, changing our circumstances is the wrong way to find contentment. Maybe you're grieving the death of someone you love today. You're certain you'll never find peace again. Elisabeth Elliot is someone who knows what that feels like, and she also knows what steps you need to take next. So whether you're lost in a sea of pain or you're simply looking for contentment in all the wrong places, today's program offers hope to you. That's all coming up on this Friday edition of Gateway To Joy. Here's Elisabeth.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you again today on keeping a quiet heart.

Earlier this week I gave you a poem by Amy Carmichael. "Hold us in quiet through the age-long minute while Thou art silent and the wind is shrill. Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it? Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?"

Some of you are in very serious trouble. Maybe you've just had a very bad piece of news. Remember that the Lord is in the boat. "Jesus slept on a pillow in the midst of a raging storm. How could He? The terrified disciples, sure that the next wave was going to send them straight to the bottom, shook Him awake with rebuke. How could He be so careless of their fate? He could, because He slept in the calm assurance that His Father was in control. His was a quiet heart.

"We see Him move serenely through all the events of His life. When He was reviled, He did not revile in return. When He knew that He would suffer many things and be killed in Jerusalem, He never deviated from His course. He had set His face like a flint. He sat at supper with one who would deny Him and another who would betray Him, yet He was able to eat with them, willing even to wash their feet. Jesus, in the unbroken intimacy of His Father's love, kept a quiet heart.

"None of us possesses a heart so perfectly at rest, for none lives in such divine unity. But we can learn a little more each day of what Jesus knew, what one writer called "the negligence of that trust which carries God with it." Who would think of using the word 'negligence' in regard to our Lord Jesus? To be negligent is to omit to do what a reasonable man would do. Would Jesus omit that? Yes, on occasion, when faith pierced beyond reason. This negligent trust--is it careless, inattentive or indolent? No, not in His case.

"Jesus, because His will was one with His Father's, could be free from care. He had the blessed assurance of knowing that His Father would do the caring, would be attentive to His Son's need. Was Jesus indolent? No, never lazy, sluggish or slothful, but He knew when to take action and when to leave things up to His Father. He taught us to work and watch, never to worry; to do gladly to do whatever we are given to do, and to leave all else with God.

Kierkegaard said, 'Purity of heart is to will one thing.' The Son of God willed only one thing--the will of His Father. That's what He came to earth to do, nothing else. One whose aim is pure as that can have a completely quiet heart. Knowing what the psalmist knew, 'Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup and have made my lot secure,' I know of no greater simplifier for all of life; whatever happens is assigned.

"Does the intellect balk at that? Can we say that there are things which happen to us which do not belong to our lovingly assigned portion? This thing belongs to it; that does not? Are some things, then, out of the control of the Almighty? Every assignment is measured and controlled for my eternal good. As I accept the given portion, other options are canceled. Decisions become much easier, directions clearer and, hence, my heart becomes inexpressibly quieter.

"What do we really want in life? Sometimes I have the chance to ask this question of high school or college students. I'm surprised at how few have a ready answer. Oh, they could come up with quite a long list of things, but is there one thing above all others that they desire?

"'One thing have I desired of the Lord,' said David. 'This is what I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.' To the rich young man who wanted eternal life, Jesus said, 'One thing you lack; go, sell everything.'

"In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us that the seed which is choked by thorns has fallen into a heart full of the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things. The apostle Paul said, 'One thing I do; forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.' A quiet heart is content with what God gives. It is enough. All is grace.

"One morning my computer simply would not obey me. What a nuisance. I had my work laid out, my timing figured, my mind all set. My work was delayed. My timing was thrown off. My thinking was interrupted. Then I remembered: it was not for nothing. This was part of the Plan--with a capital 'P'--not mine, His. Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup.

"Now if the interruption had been a human being instead of an infuriating mechanism, it would not have been so hard to see it as the most important part of the work of the day. But all is under my Father's control. Yes, recalcitrant computers, faulty transmissions, drawbridges which happen to be up when one is in a hurry. My portion, my cup, my lot is secure, my heart can be at peace. My Father is in charge. How simple! My assignment entails my willing acceptance of my portion. In matters far beyond comparison with the trivialities just mentioned, such as the death of a precious baby.

"A mother wrote to me of losing her son when he was one month old. A widow writes of the long agony of watching her husband die. The number of years given them in marriage seemed too few. We can only note that eternal love is wiser than we, and we bow in adoration of that loving wisdom. Response is what matters.

"Remember that our forefathers were all guided by the pillar of cloud. All passed through the sea. All ate and drank of the same spiritual food and drink. But God was not pleased with most of them. Their response was all wrong. Bitter about the portions allotted, they indulged in idolatry, gluttony and sexual sin. And God killed them by snakes and by a destroying angel. The same almighty God apportioned their experience. All events serve His will. All events serve God's will." They all fit into that wonderful pattern that's spoken of in Romans 8:28, "Everything that happens fits into the pattern of good for them that love God." Events are God's bright messengers. Some people responded in faith; most did not.

"In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read, 'No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, and God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.' Think of that promise and keep a quiet heart. Our enemy, the devil, delights in disquieting us. Our Savior and Helper delights in quieting us. 'As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you,' is His promise in Isaiah 66:13." As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.

"The choice is ours. It depends on our willingness to see everything in God, to receive all from His hand, to accept with gratitude exactly the portion and cup that He offers. Shall I charge Him with a mistake in His measurements? Or with misjudging the sphere in which I can best learn to trust Him? Has He misplaced me? Is He ignorant of things or people which, in my view, hinder my doing His will? God came down and lived in this same world as man. He showed us how to live in this world, subject to its vicissitudes and necessities, that we might be changed. Not into an angel or a storybook princess; not wafted into another world, but changed into saints in this world. The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

"I'll close with the words of that hymn by Lina Sandell, 'Day by Day.' 'He whose heart is kind beyond all measure gives unto each day what He deems best. Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure, mingling toil with peace and rest.'"

Lisa Barry: What a wonderful goal to strive for. And we would not be doing our part if we didn't offer resources to help you take a closer look into the topic. I know that not everything we mention will be something you need, but on those occasions when you want to dig deeper, we're here to help. The book Elisabeth has been talking about this week is called KEEP A QUIET HEART. It's a collection of writings designed to remind you of the steps necessary to cultivate a quiet heart.

The cost is $14.50. You can order it in a snap over the Internet. Simply access our Web site at gatewaytojoy.org and you'll find everything you need. You can also order by mail at Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. Today's program has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Monday we'll begin week two on this topic by looking at why we need adversity. That's next time on Gateway To Joy.