Copied From the Personal Notebook of Elisabeth Elliot

Sitting in the audience, feverishly taking notes, I tried desperately to capture her every word. Elisabeth Elliot’s topic was, “For the Sake of the Joy.” Afterward, knowing I missed a bit, I approached the podium and asked, “May I please copy from your own notes the reference to Andrew Murray?”

With only a nanosecond of hesitation (and I wasn’t sure of the answer), she said, “Yes, Here it is. But please don’t’ lose it. Please. I have no other copy.”

With that, Elisabeth Elliot, our conference speaker, closed her small, very worn three-ring leather binder and placed it into my outstretched hand. Having respect for the countless hours of labor contained in this aged volume, I quickly set about transcribing from her notebook into mine the content below. At the top of my page, I began with this inscription:

Copied from the personal notebook of Elisabeth Elliot, September 13, 1987

Andrew Murray’s Rules for Himself

1. He brought me here, it is by His will that I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.

2. He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.

3. He will make the trail a blessing, teach me the lessons He intends for me to learn, and work in me the grace He means to bestow.

4. In His good time He can bring me out again - - how and when He knows.

Let me say, I am here:

By God’s appointment

2. In His keeping

3. Under His training

4. For His time

When my task of transcribing was complete, I closed the cover, studied the item in my hand, rubbed my fingers over the aged leather, and forthwith returned it to its rightful owner. With relief, she said, “Thank you; oh, thank you!”

I’m not sure what taught me more, Andrew Murray’s Rules for Himself or Elisabeth Elliot’s willingness to trust her only teaching notebook into the hands of a spiritual neophyte. For both I, to this day, remain grateful.