Suffering Is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot
Week 5: Chapter 5 — Suffering and Surrender
Read Chapter 5 of Suffering Is Never for Nothing. Key Scripture: Luke 22:42; Philippians 4:11–13.
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Surrender is one of the most countercultural ideas in this book — the world calls it weakness; Elliot calls it the doorway to peace. These questions help you examine what surrender actually looks like and what it costs.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.How does Elliot define surrender in the context of suffering? What is she asking us to surrender, and to whom? What is she NOT asking us to do?
2.Elliot herself returned to live among the very people who had killed her husband. That extraordinary act is a living embodiment of surrender. What motivated that decision? What does it tell you about the freedom that surrender can produce?
3.Paul writes in Philippians 4 that he has 'learned' contentment in all circumstances — meaning it was not natural or automatic. How does Elliot's chapter reflect that idea of contentment as something learned through practice rather than given all at once?
a.What have you had to 'learn' about contentment in your own hardest seasons?
b.What habits, prayers, or practices has Elliot (or others you know) found useful for practicing surrender before the crisis comes?
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