Lisa Barry: Have you ever gotten exactly the right size piece of pie at dessert time? Usually, we would prefer a bigger slice, but it's not polite to take half of the pie. And then there are times when the pie is so rich that even a sliver is too much. But in any case, we take what we are given by the host.

What kind of a response does God get when He assigns your portions of life? If He assigns suffering to you for a time, do you wiggle and complain? Or do you let it mold and shape you? Today on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot concludes our series on "The Presence of Christ" with a challenge to accept what God has allowed into our lives as His divine assignment. 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, concluding my talks today on the presence of Christ, the peace of Christ, the power of Christ, the purpose of Christ, and today, "my assigned portion."

If we have begun to practice the presence of Christ and to know the peace that the world can never give, if we truly believe in the power of Christ to transform us, the purpose He has in every event of our lives-nothing is for nothing, remember-and if we are willing to be pruned, what is this purpose?

Well, it's a very big order, but it's what life is all about. We are not left to flounder about in the stormy sea of the world. Jesus Christ loves us. He died for us. He calls us to Himself and He wants to give us joy. Yes, He does. He wants to give us joy.

How many people can you point to, do you think, about whom you could say, "Watch her. That is a joyous woman." "Look at that man. Joy is visible on his face." Probably not a very long list of people.

Paul said, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content." Do you know where he was when he said that? Chained between two soldiers in a prison. Contentment in whatsoever state.

What is your assigned portion? Psalm 16:5 says, "Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup and have made my lot secure." Your age, for one thing, is exactly the portion that God has assigned you today. Not one of us knows that we're going to have anymore tomorrow. It may be over.

Have you ever felt jealous of someone? Were you able to be made glad for somebody else's success and happiness, especially if it was a job that you hoped to receive yourself and it was given to somebody else? It's a good thing at such a time to remember Psalm 16:5. The Lord has assigned us this portion and no more.

One of the things that has greatly calmed and benefited my spiritual life is the recognition that each moment is a gift from God. It is an invitation that Christ offers to each one, those of us who yearn to know Him, that He is giving us the gift of the present moment. The past is gone. The future is not here yet. But if only we would respond with a willing heart, we would understand this wonderful gift of the present moment.

Now think of some memorable moments in your own life. Some wonderful surprises, perhaps. You got an "A" in chemistry back in college. Or the lady said "yes" when you said, "Will you marry me?" Or the doctor said, "It's a boy!"

Then there are those shattering moments. You didn't get the job. The diagnosis was scary. But remember that the Lord watches over you. In Psalm 121, four times those words are repeated: "The Lord watches over you. He will keep you from harm."

Now does that mean that God is going to prevent anything that you would call bad from happening to you? No. It doesn't mean that. God has a different definition of harm than you and I have. He is never going to harm us, but there may be times when He will hurt us. We need to be able to say in the midst of any kind of circumstance, whatever the present moment brings, "It is well with my soul."

Events are things which come with the moment, but God comes with them. If we are in the sunshine, we experience rest and joy. If we're in the storms of life, we need then to remember that He is the King of the storms.

Has God given you some special providences? We often speak of special providences-things which just seem to be miraculous-that just happen. But I don't believe that, in God's economy, there are any special providences, because I believe that God is in charge of the whole package. All is providential.

It isn't as though God lets go of the thread of your affairs for six days out of the week and then picks up the thread on the seventh. There are no exceptions. The gift of the present moment-it is here, in this place, in this job, in this marriage, in this kitchen, in this office, in this truck, in this filling station, in this prison cell or wherever-that God is calling to you and saying, "I'm offering you the gift of the present moment. Can you find Me in it? What will you do with it?"

Now it's perfectly human that God's care is more evident to us at times. We are bewildered and fallible and we just can't imagine how God was paying attention when what we call "bad things" have happened. But what we call bad things are not necessarily bad things in God's sight. They are the necessary hammer blows or the chippings of the chisel or the rasping of the file that are required to shape us into the image of Christ. They are necessary. They are God-allowed and God-ordained and there are no exceptions. God does not let go the thread of your affairs for any part of a moment. The whole matter is one grand providence.

I often think back over my life and the amazing providences which were so different from what I expected. I could never have imagined being a broadcaster. That's the last thing that would have ever crossed my mind. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't had a little seminar in Georgia many years ago for a group of about sixty women. One of the women who came to the seminar was a young woman whom I had met very briefly at the Urbana Missionary Convention in Illinois. She had begun a correspondence with me. Then she went to Ecuador to work with the missionary radio station down there. She was there for two years. She got to know some of my missionary friends in Ecuador. She continued to write to me and even sent me tapes now and then.

Well, she came to that seminar in Georgia and she listened to the things that I talked about for four or five days. I've forgotten exactly how long it was. Without saying anything to me, as far as I remember, she made up her mind that Elisabeth Elliot would go on the radio. Well, there's one of God's amazing providences. She took it upon herself to go to the people at Back to the Bible in Lincoln, Nebraska and suggest a women's radio program.

They said, "Well, we'd like to have a women's program. It depends on who the woman might be." She said, "Well, what about Elisabeth Elliot?" They said, "Do you think we could get her?" She said, "I think maybe you could," all of this unbeknownst to me. Just one of the many special-what seemed to me like special-providences. But all along, God knows exactly what is going to happen, doesn't He? The whole matter is one grand providence.

Then I could go back further in my past and I could say, "Well, I would not have been at that conference in Georgia if my husband Jim had not been killed in Ecuador." I presume I would have still been in the jungle, but of course none of us knows what might have been. It's never possible to know what might have been. We only know what is.

The consequent will of God. Think about that. There are consequences. We think, "This happened because that happened," but it's all a part of the will of God. We might call it the consequent will of God.

What is my response to the portion God has chosen for me? Is it "Yes, Lord. Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord. Let it happen as You say"? That was Mary's response in that little house in Nazareth when an angel came and told her that she would become the mother of the Son of God. "Let it happen as you say."

And we have our Heavenly Father's promise, "I am with you all the days." Think when Queen Esther went into that court, trembling undoubtedly with terror, lest she be rejected by the king and abandoned. Was God there? Of course. When Daniel went into the lions' den, what were his thoughts? Were his knees shaking? "Lo, I am with you all the days."

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego went into the fiery furnace. What were they thinking beforehand? God was there and God was in the furnace with them. God was in the den of lions. When Paul was in prison, God was in prison with Paul. Paul worshipped the divine will while He was bound in prison chains. There's a suggestion for you prisoners. Do you worship the divine will? Can you find your joy in the portion that God has assigned?

Remember, God has assigned you your portion and your cup and has made your lot secure. I trust you can find great strength and comfort and peace in that fact.

Lisa Barry: As we close for today, I want to give you one last opportunity to purchase a copy of this one-week series. It's called THE PRESENCE OF GOD. I hope you'll also consider the financial needs of this program. When you offer your support, it's a vote of confidence for Gateway To Joy in your area. Tell us you like what you hear, or tell us what you'd like to be hearing.

This is our address: Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska, 68501. Or call toll-free: 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Our Internet ministry address is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible.

Monday Elisabeth gleans important lessons from a book called STEPPING HEAVENWARD. Find out more next time on Gateway To Joy.