Lisa Barry: Is the word "restless" one that would describe you today? Maybe life just isn't panning out the way you envisioned it would ten years ago. Possibly you thought marriage would be the one thing that would make your life complete, or that promotion at work. All this week, Elisabeth Elliot is talking about restlessness.

So far, we've learned that restlessness is a form of worldliness because it's a sign of discontentment. Then she talked about spiritual and worldly motivation. Today as we continue on this topic, Elisabeth looks even deeper into the cause of restlessness. As we begin today's program, bring all of your thoughts, hopes, dreams and fears to the forefront and let them be transformed into your gateway to joy. Let's get started.

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 again today about restlessness. An epidemic it seems--almost an endemic kind of thing, where people don't know the Lord. They're constantly searching for what they think will satisfy them. And, of course, we know that there is no real satisfaction, no real rest, except in Christ Himself. God made us with a God-shaped vacuum, and nothing will ever fill that vacuum except God.

We said yesterday that restlessness weakens us. It unnerves us so that our work is not well done. We become careless. Restlessness disquiets our minds, creates confusion. And helplessness is the result. A very wise man that called himself "the Preacher" wrote the book of Ecclesiastes, which is a very vivid description of what a man without God feels like. I want to read from the second chapter:

"So I hated life," he says, "because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after wind. I hated all things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

"So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun? All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless" (Ecclesiastes 2:17-23).

Anybody listening to me today that feels as though everything is meaningless? "Vanity of vanities," (Ecclesiastes 1:2 KJV) "nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV)? What does it all come to? Well, that little passage from the book of Ecclesiastes describes accurately the man of the world. Wealth didn't bring him peace after all. He had not been able to find rest in his work.

Restlessness makes us cynical. We begin to wonder if there's any meaning anywhere. It disturbs faith. We need solidity. We need certainty, surety, security--and that can only be found in God Himself because He's the One that's in charge of everything. He knows the end from the beginning. He loves us. He is wise. He's powerful. And he calls us to put our faith in Him, to set our feet on that Rock which will never move.

My friend Van, my dear close friend whom I've known ever since 1947, was a missionary in Sudan. She had many very difficult and unsettling experiences there, in her 13 years until the Arab government kicked her out. When she and I got together in Ecuador and compared notes on our missionary life, we discovered that there were many things that we had in common. Everything that had been shakable seemed to have been shaken.

But I've never forgotten what Van said at the end of that discussion. She said, "But, Bet, my feet were on the Rock and the Rock never moved." That Rock is Christ. Let's not lose our hold on God and eternal things.

If we're not at rest our work will lack power. It will lack coherence. Let me read from Psalm 37. One of my favorite Psalms, you may have guessed by now because I do quote from it often. "Do not fret because of evil men." Do not fret. Do not fret. I'm often tempted to fret because of the evil things that are done to other people, and occasionally the evil things that are done to me. It makes us fretful unless we know the One who is in control. So the Psalmist says, "Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon whither, like green plants they will soon die away" (Psalm 37:1-2).

So if we're not suppose to fret, what are we suppose to do? Verse 3 tells us, "Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn.... Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:3-7).

I confess that that's one of my greatest difficulties--being still before the Lord when I want to move ahead, find out what's going to happen, arrange things. And God is simply saying, "Be still...wait patiently for Me; and do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil" (Psalm 37:7-8).

So there in that one Psalm--three times--we are given the command, "Do not fret." The antidote to fretting is rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him. Rest is a divine gift. It is also a lesson that we must learn.

Jesus said, "Come to Me, you who are tired and overburdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Nobody else in the world can literally give you rest. We might arrange a comfortable place for you. We might make the house quiet so that you could take a nap or have a few days of quietness. But we can never give rest itself. It's only God that could do that.

It is a gift, but it is also a lesson. It takes a choice--a deliberate, voluntary act of saying, "Lord, I will not fret about this thing that tempts me so strongly to fret. I will commit my way to You. I will trust. I will rest."

How many days go by when you're not upset by something? Each occasion when we are upset is God's lesson. It is in that occasion that we are reminded that He is perfectly in control. He knows more about this situation than you do: that difficult situation at work--that ominous sign of your business going down the drain, perhaps; your fears for your adult children who have moved away--you don't quite know what they're doing or where they are.

Whatever causes you anxiety today, that is the situation, that is the occasion in which God is reminding you, "I've got the whole world in My hands. Trust Me. Lean on Me. I know what the outcome is. I'll be there. I'm not going to leave you. I will not forsake you. All will be well." Accept this moment of anxiety and fretting. Trust Him and be still before Him, and you'll find rest.

When you find yourself in a traffic jam, if you have an appointment that can be very frustrating. What am I to do? You can't get off the highway. You can't make a phone call. What do we do? Realize that God's in charge. You're not at the mercy of the drawbridge that's up, or the traffic jam, or the accident down the road. God knew all about it. "My times are in Thy hands," said the psalmist (Psalm 31:15).

There's always time to do the will of God. Yes, I really believe that. There is always time to do the will of God, I'm going to say to you today. How many know that's the truth? There is time to do the will of God. There is never an excuse because we didn't have time. We may not have had time because we wasted time, but God gave us enough time to accomplish His will. Many things we may have planned which can't be accomplished, but the great thing is to make our planning subject to God's perfect plan. His will can always be done--always.

Do you know what it is today? What is His will for you today? Have you asked Him? Have you laid your agenda at His feet and asked Him to correct it? Are you worried about it? Is there something you dread? Have you deliberately chosen to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him? This is the road to peace, the gateway to joy for both you and me. Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for Him. Commit Thy way unto the Lord; trust in Him. God bless you.

Lisa Barry: As we bring today's program to a close, I want to let you know about a great book called Mountain Breezes. It's a collection of poetry by Amy Carmichael, and she just happens to be one of the people who has influenced Elisabeth the most. Her writing is captivating, even disturbing and highly motivating. This is a good-sized book, so you'll have a lot of wisdom to consider on a variety of topics. The book, Mountain Breezes, is available from Gateway To Joy and if you'd like a copy we'd be happy to send one to you for a suggested donation of $16.00. Our address is:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE 68501. Or, call toll free 24 hours a day, 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. Or, dial up our Web site at gatewaytojoy.org. You can look up resources, daily programs, and upcoming program topics so you can tell a friend when to listen. That address again is gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible and is supported by the generous gifts of people like you.

Tomorrow, Elisabeth talks about "A Double Yoke." Find out what that's all about next time on Gateway To Joy.