By Thomas Denegre
We know how David overcame Goliath (1 Samuel 17). In a similar way, one woman, through Christ, overcame a South American
tribe’s culture of death into life.
In the jungles of Ecuador, 33-year-old Elisabeth Elliot
watched in horror as a dead man floated down the river with eighteen spears
embedded in him. The dreaded Auca tribe, known for their savagery and
killings, had infiltrated her host’s village. Filled with mixed feelings,
Elisabeth made contact with the tribe she planned to evangelize with the
Gospel. Two years earlier, her husband Jim Elliot and four other
missionaries were speared to death by the same tribe when they tried to evangelize to them. Just as David was going to confront Goliath (1 Samuel 17), Elizabeth was
going to confront her own foe. Yet, her mission was not to destroy her
enemy but to save them.
In the end, Elisabeth befriended the tribe and by
modeling the virtues of Jesus she won many of them over to Christ. Taken
back by her character of humility, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, courage, and
openness, 20% of the tribe received Jesus as their Lord.
When she arrived in 1959 six out of ten Auca men died before
the age of forty-five from homicide. The Auca’s were a savage people and
killing was an accepted form of behavior. Within a few years the
homicide rate dropped to 10% and the tribe’s population increased from 600 to
2,000 people. The tribe changed their name from Auca to Waorani, meaning
they are “the true people.” Clearly, the acceptance of Christ in these people’s
hearts changed the culture of the tribe from death into life. As Jesus
once said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have to
come to bring life, and bring it abundantly.” (John 10:10).
So, how do we overcome our great enemies in life?
More importantly, how do we love our enemies when they want to kill us?
As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them
my friends?” Elisabeth Elliot, who wrote the book, “End of the Spear,”
gives us the lessons to conquer our enemies. Here are just few things I
learned that you can apply to your life today, that can make a difference.
The prophet Hosea once said, “my people are
destroyed from lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) Or, as one of Murphy’s Law
states, “if all else fails read the instructions.” As God plainly instructs us,
we are called to plant and grow His Word in our heart and mind to prosper in all things.
Based on my own experience with prison ministry and mentoring immature Christians, the lesson is simple. In John 15, Jesus is
the source of life, truth, and the way while we receive and apply this source
of love and life to others. Jesus said, “If you live in life-union
with me (Jesus) and if my words live powerfully within you—then you can ask
whatever you desire, and it will be done. When your lives bear abundant
fruit, you demonstrate that you are my mature disciples who glorify my Father!”
(John 15:7-8 TPT)
By being in life union with Jesus and knowing his Words,
I’m given the power, authority and strength to love, forgive, and care for
others. Not only does it change my life, but it changes those around
me. Today, the wardens of Ohio prisons are demanding more prison ministries
to its inmates because it changes lives and changes the culture of a
prison. Just like the Auca tribe, the blessings of God are bestowed to
those who hear, believe, and do his word.
To have the courage to face your enemy requires a large
faith, confidence, and trust in the Lord. Elisabeth was soaked in the word and
it gave her the strength and compassion to encounter her enemy. It was
not her facing the enemy, but Christ inside her that did.
Three things matter most in our faith journey. One is
knowing the word of God. Two, is visualizing it working, and three being
obedient to His Word. As St. Paul said in Romans, “So, faith comes
from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17).
Equally important is visualizing the hope of God in your heart. “For the
heart is the wellspring of Life.” (Proverbs 4:20)
You have to conceive the Word, then you believe what it
says, and then you’ll receive its promises. God calls us to meditate on the
word to conceive its blessings as it is written in Psalm 1. For it says,
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the
counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And, in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of
water,
Which yields its fruit in its season,
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
(Psalm 1:1-3)
Yes, God prospers us when we own the Word of God in our
heart and mind! I learned that by meditating on the Word in my heart God has prospered
me with a rich life with Jesus in the Kingdom of God, and a blessed life with
my wife, family and friends. Through humility I opened my heart to his love and
his teachings. By seeing how Jesus works in the Word, I can manifest
these blessings from my mind’s eye into reality. It is the same way
Elisabeth was able to convert the tribe from a culture of death to Life, and
the same way you can do it too.
Finally, you will always encounter doubts when facing
difficult circumstances. The way out is simple; never trust your own
reasoning based on earthly teachings, never trust the reasoning of an
unbeliever, and never trust the reasoning of a Christian who does not know or
honors the Word of God. Rather, through the Holy Spirit, always trust in the Word of God and the
counsel of like-minded Christians. Just as Elisabeth trusted God in the jungles
of Ecuador, you too can trust God to change your life and those around you.
