Lisa Barry: I wonder how many of you listening to me today are in the midst of a fiery trial. It might be illness or loss; possibly abuse or loneliness. It doesn't always matter how hot the fire is, it still hurts and it still burns. Have you ever dropped to your knees, asking God when He is going to put the fire out? Does it seem like the flames have damaged your life beyond repair? Well, if any of those scenarios describe the way you feel, then I'm so glad you're listening today because Elisabeth Elliot has a wonderful illustration from nature that can apply to your situation today. This is Lisa Barry, inviting you to stay with us for a ray of hope next on 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 about the givens and the not-givens. Can we peacefully accept whatever God gives and peacefully accept the fact that He does not always give us that for which we ask?

It is a lesson that we have to repeat over and over again throughout our Christian lives. I speak as one who has sought to live for God for, well, I would say more than six decades. But I still struggle when that which I have asked for is not given or that which I have not asked for is given. One of the things that would certainly come under that heading would be adversity. We would not ask for adversity.

I read a fascinating bit about life from the fire. I always love to read these nature things that describe the amazing wisdom of God. Fire nourishes and rejuvenates chaparral. That's a word I'm not sure I'm pronouncing correctly, but you people from Arizona and California will understand. It's some kind of impenetrable brush, very prickly, thick and dry, and a good deal tougher than tundra. Tundra is what covers a good part of northern Canada. It covers the lower slopes and canyons of California's mountains. This chaparral that we're talking about covers the lower slopes and canyons of California's mountains.

Now listen to this. "There are seeds which fall into the soil, stay there indefinitely, and will not germinate except in the aftermath of fire. There are basil buds that sprout only after fire. Droughts are so long, rains so brief that dead bits of wood and leaves scarcely decay. Instead they accumulate and thicken, until the plant community is all but strangling in its own duff. The nutrients in the dead material are being withheld from the soil. When fire comes, it puts nutrients back in the ground. It clears the terrain for fresh growth. When chaparral has not been burned for thirty years, about half the thicket will be dry, dead stuff, 25,000 tons of it per square mile."

Did you get that? I'll read that sentence again. "When chaparral has not been burned for thirty years, about half the thicket will be dry, dead stuff, 25,000 tons of it per square mile. "Most chaparral plants are full of solvent extractives that burn intensely and ignite easily. Their leaves are glossy with oils and resins that seal in moisture during hot, dry periods, and serve the dual purpose of responding explosively to flame."

The same writer tells a little bit about the lodge pole pine. The seed of that particular kind of pine tree comes open only with intense heat. Isn't that amazing? God has the most incredible things working in His will and working His will here on earth.

My husband and I have been in Australia a couple of times. We were fascinated with what we learned about the eucalyptus trees there. The leaves, as you know, are very thin, narrow leaves. They act like Venetian blinds. They actually move like Venetian blinds as the sun moves from east to west. When there is a fire, of course there's lots of oil in eucalyptus trees, and they quite literally explode. They need the fire in order to be rejuvenated again and to stay healthy.

Now what has this got to do with the givens and the not-givens? Adversity is one of the things that you and I wish we were not given. If there's what seems to be a fire in our souls, be assured that it is a loving hand that set that fire and that caused what may look to us like absolute devastation in our lives in a relationship, in our church, in your neighborhood, in your home, in your own soul. God wants to bring new life out of this thing.

There are so many illustrations from nature that we could make out of this. It's a wonderful thing to realize that He has got the whole world in His hands. That which is given is given out of His marvelous wisdom, because He knows each one of us through and through.

I want to read you the little poem called "The Thorn." Perhaps I've read it before. It's written by that person named Anonymous. It uses a word in the first line that we don't use very much nowadays. The word is "mendicant," which means a beggar.

"I stood, a mendicant of God, before His royal throne and begged Him for one priceless gift which I could call my own. I took the gift from out of His hand, but as I would depart I cried, 'But Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart. This is a strange and hurtful gift which Thou hast given me.' He said, 'My child, I give good gifts and gave My best to thee.' I took it home, and though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore, as long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more. I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace: He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face."

You remember that God gave to the Apostle Paul something which Paul wished he was not given-a thorn. The Bible tells us that Paul begged God three times to take that thorn away. What was God's answer? "My grace is all you need, for power comes to its full strength in weakness."

Suppose you and I had been deprived of that wonderful message because the Apostle Paul refused to accept it. Paul had to be afflicted. He had to suffer the adversity of this tiny thing. Not a very big thing compared to all the tremendous sufferings that Paul had been through, such as shipwrecks and floggings and imprisonment and nakedness and starving and the care of all the churches. He lists two or three times his sufferings and difficulties. But then this tiny little thing.

Paul says that it was given to him in order to keep him from becoming absurdly conceited. It's very possible to become absurdly conceited quite easily, isn't it? If someone flatters us, if we begin to believe our own press notices-always a bad sign. My second husband, Addison Leitch, was a wonderful speaker and writer and a man of tremendous humor. But he used to say, "Don't let me begin to believe my press notices." He says, "I know I'll be in trouble if I do that."

The Apostle Paul could not have learned the lesson in all those major sorrows and sufferings that he learned with that one tiny little thing, because the Bible says it was given to him in order to keep him from becoming absurdly conceited. Our enemy, the devil, would love to get us conceited. He would love to have persuaded Paul that he was very special and way above the average man. But the Bible says that the thorn, although it was a messenger from Satan sent to trouble him, it was also meant to keep him from becoming absurdly conceited. Satan would have loved to see the Apostle Paul conceited. God was determined that he would not become conceited, and so He sent this form of adversity in that little needling thorn.

We don't know exactly what it was. Was it a literal thorn or something else? Perhaps the reason the Holy Spirit doesn't tell us is so that we can apply it to whatever that little prickly thing in our lives may be. Perhaps it's a next-door neighbor. Perhaps it's a very difficult relative. At any rate, it's given to you in order that you might learn that His grace is all you need and that power comes to its full strength through weakness.

Power comes to the chaparral and to the lodge pole pine in the form of fire, a very severe, seemingly devastating fire. Maybe you're in the midst of an experience like that that seems like a devastating fire. God knows why. This is one of the things that He has given.

The poet says, "I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace: He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face."

Lisa Barry: As we say good-bye for today, let me tell you about a few resources that can deepen your understanding. The first is a cassette copy of this one-week series entitled THE GIVENS AND THE NOT-GIVENS. When you're done with the tape, you can lend it to a friend, but be sure to get it back, because you'll want to refer to it again and again. The other thing I'd like to mention is Elisabeth's book entitled A PATH THROUGH SUFFERING. It takes a serious look at what our response should be to pain and how to realign our focus back to God and His purposes. It's a must-read for anyone who is suffering.

For information on either the book or the cassette tape, call us here on our toll-free number: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Or you can write to us at Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow Elisabeth talks about accepting our place in life. Find out more next time on Gateway To Joy.