Do the next thing

One woman who has been a great inspiration to me throughout the years is Elisabeth Elliot. As a teenager I read her books as well as the books of those who inspired her. She introduced me to heroes of the faith such as Amy Carmichael, Hudson Taylor, Jim Elliot. So when the opportunity arose as a young adult to hear her speak in my hometown, I was eager to meet this "mentor" of my mine. I took many notes that fall day over fifteen years ago which now are most forgotten, but four small words have never left my memory....


"Do the next thing."


Simple, yet profound, these words have echoed through my brain time and time again. You see, when Elisabeth found out her husband had been killed by the Auca Indians in South America, leaving her in the jungle alone with her toddler daughter, she cried out to God, "What am I to do, Lord? How am I to make it?" He gave her these four simple words...


"Do the next thing."


If you know her story, you know she became a part of bringing the light of the gospel and forgiveness to the very ones who massacred her husband and four other missionaries in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador. She wrote many books and published the memoirs of her late husband for all to be inspired by. She has spoken to large crowds and passed a legacy of evangelism on to the next generation. And she did all this by simply one motto...


"Do the next thing."


You see, I don't know what the future holds, whether the economy will collapse, whether I will even live to see my next day or even breath. I can't see how the big picture of my life will unfold, but I know that I am called to follow my Savior day by day, and moment by moment. When I cry out before him, "God, what does this look like?" You know what He says to me?


"Do the next thing."


What does the next thing look like? It may look as mundane and simple as laundry and dishes, or it may appear as challenging as giving up everything to live with the poor of this world in order to bring them the Kingdom. It may seem hard, overwhelming, unattainable, but when broken down it is simply...


"Do the next thing."


I don't have to worry about what tomorrow will bring.  I don't have to have it all figured out, for my Father who owns all things knows tomorrow. I simply move forward hand in hand, step by step, with Him who feeds even the sparrows while doing the ONE thing I know to do....


.....the next thing.

 (Image of fun shoes found at Anthropologie.)