To Live is Christ

“Let not our longing[s] slay the appetite of our living.” –Jim Elliot

This morning, as I sat on my bed trying to prolong the inevitable of getting ready for work at 6 AM, the profundity of this quote hit me. Now, in context, Jim Elliot was writing to Elisabeth—who would later become his wife—about their longing to be married; he was encouraging her continuance of pursing the Lord and His plans with steadfast determination. However, it seems that this principle can be applied to any aspect in life and any longings we might have.

There are many times when the Lord does not give us the things we believe we desire or He does not answer our prayers according to our will. Of course, when one truly realizes how his relationship with the Father works, he knows that God gives His children only what He deems as good and perfect; anything short of His will is not good and, therefore, if a child of God desires something outside of God’s will, He—like a good father—will not give it to him.

Any person knows the experience of disappointment in not getting their own way; even those people who “get everything they want” will experience it because there are times when they realize that what they wanted did not bring complete satisfaction; therefore, disappointment still occurs. Even when we are sure that something is God’s will, He might wait in granting that desire to us. It is our responsibility to react gracefully and in submission to God’s decision. However the situation pans out, we must be careful to, as Jim Elliot said, “Let not our longing[s] slay the appetite of our living.” What then does this mean?

As I sat on my bed (and as I sit here now), I thought about it. I was reminded of Paul’s statement in Philippians 1:21 in which he says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” For Paul, living meant that he would follow, serve, and bring glory to Christ; if he died, he knew he would reap the many blessings and joys of falling before the throne of the most High and worshiping Him. If for Paul living meant complete service and submission to the Lord, we too should have this same goal and mindset. We cannot let disappointment and discontentment cause us to lose zeal, passion, or fervor for serving our Lord. We must not let the fact that we did not get what we wanted, when we wanted, the way we wanted cause us to resent the Lord. In fact, the way we react to this type of situation will directly affect our attitude towards God. If we are mad at God, we will not want to serve Him or bring Him glory and honor. But, however, if we trust that God knows what is best, we will realize that God has a bigger and better plan than ours, if only it is to teach us patience and trust. We cannot and must not let our desires and longings get in the way of how we live for the Lord. (Obviously, if our desires and longings are truly aligned with God’s will and His perfect timing, than these things will not conflict.) Essentially, Jim Elliot was saying that we cannot let our disappointment kill our desire to serve the Lord. According to the Westminster Larger Catechism, “man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever.” We were born to serve God and to glorify Him; that is our purpose in life. Therefore, even when it seems as if the Lord does not grant us our desires, we must still glorify Him because that is what we were created to do. We can glorify Him through our attitudes and how we react to His answer to us.

In closing, I have a prayer by Thomas a Kempis posted up on the mirror in my room and I often meditate on it when it seems as if my desires are conflicting with God’s will. Here is is:

“Lord, may my desires change to Your desires. Lord, if a desire is good and profitable, give me grace to fulfill it to Your glory. But if it be hurtful and injurious to my soul’s health, then remove it from my mind.”