This book is really good, like almost 5 stars good. The first two thirds are such an insight into what it means to live for the Glory of God, wanting more of Christ, even if I didn’t always agree with the conclusions Jim Elliot came to. However the last third of the book, when Jim was finally in Ecuador, just lost my interest. I don’t know whether I really enjoyed the first part because Jim was the same age as me and it led me to look at myself but in the last third I felt the story started to stagnate with details that the reader wouldn’t really by interested in. However, all in all, very glad I read it.

"I see clearly now that anything, whatever it is, if it be not on the principle of grace, it is not of God. Here shall be my plea in weakness; here shall be my boldness in prayer; here shall be my deliverance in temptation; at last, here shall be my translation. Not of grace? Then not of God."

"I think there is nothing so startling in all the graces of God as His quietness."

"We have found great joy in coming to the field as God's free folk. Answering to nobody but Himself, and with nobody's support or promise but His very own...it is most gratifying to look aloft to the God who keeps promises and is sufficient."

"He is giving me such good things I wonder that I could want more."

Loved the message of this book to follow your calling from God! Jim Elliot (through Elizabeth Elliot’s curating of his letters and journal entries) inspires readers to press into God’s purposes for their lives and follow Him with laser focus.

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” -Jim Elliot

I’ve found that few things stir up faith more than biographies of faithful men and women who have gone to great lengths to make Christ known, this biography is no exception. Jim Elliot spent his life making the gospel known to those who had never heard, and ultimately at the cost of his life.

“But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them as dung, so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ  — the righteousness from God based on faith.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭9‬

May it be so in my life.

Rating is based solely on the writing. The format of telling most of Jim Elliot's story from his own words in journals and letters is effective, I suppose, but ends up rather dry. Oddly, I found Mr. Elliot's writing poetic and compelling at times. I wonder if Mrs. Elliot could have simply relied on his own words too much? Perhaps she could have summarized more events.

As for the person of Mr. Elliot . . .

One cannot read a biography without forming at least a cursory opinion of the subject. If the rating were based on my opinion of Mr. Elliot, it might be different. I think if I had known Mr. Elliot in real life, I would have found him rather sanctimonious and occasionally a bit of a thug. The account of him and his friend shooting a duck in Portland, only to find out that it was a pet duck, disturbed me--not because the duck died, but because the young men simply hid from the weeping owner and just prayed that she would be comforted. I find that thuggish behavior, but the tone of the book suggests that we should wink and shake our heads and say "boys will be boys."

In addition, Mr. Elliot made it clear that he would register as a conscientious objector should he be drafted. I confess that I do NOT understand at all this religious objection to defending freedom. It's interesting to note that I read a biography of George and Martha Washington at the same time I read this biography, and I would consider George Washington to have had as deep and abiding a faith as Mr. Elliot had. Mr. Washington, however, considered it an obligation to serve his country by defending the budding United States from tyranny--and indeed, several prominent Quakers left their sect and their pacifism to fight against the British in the Revolutionary War. So while I suppose I can respect Mr. Elliot's strength of conviction, I do not understand it, and I suspect that he would have been mightily offended by Mr. Washington's ability to reconcile his faith with serving in war.

On the other hand, I have the deepest and most profound respect for Mr. Elliot's service to the kingdom of God. And I confess--as one who does not experience the voice of God except through His Word, I am rather jealous of someone who could be so completely convinced of his calling and his duty. In addition, I think that his assessment of the church in America was deadly accurate, and I found his criticism of the way we practice Christianity here a biting indictment that has only proven itself even more true in the intervening decades since he penned his comments. Finally, while I did find Mr. Elliot personally a bit offensive (really? He couldn't change diapers because he believed in the "division of labor"? And he considered staying with his daughter "babysitting"?), I also do believe that he seemed to be growing into a more mellow, more palatable person as he aged. Had he lived past the age of 28, he may have eventually been someone that I could have tolerated in adulthood.

In any case, I'm glad I read it, and I will likely make time to read "Through the Gates of Splendor" eventually.

A classic I have wanted to read for a while. Give that it's mostly journals and letters from Jim himself, the reader gets an intimate look at the prayers of a man afire with passion for taking the gospel to those who have never heard of Jesus. His passion shines through, yes, but we also see his immaturity, impatience, and even dare I say his awkwardness at times.

Yet an American Christian in today's society needs to come face to face with the convictions of Jim Elliot, a man who took Christ at his word. We need to be jolted from our comforts and distractions to remember the mission of God for a world that has rejected Him. This work shakes some rust off and reminds us of our place in the chronicle of redemption.

The life and testament of Jim Elliot has served to increase my faith like nothing I've ever read, outside the Bible. Jim believed in a deep, serious obedience to Christ. And he was very unashamed of it. That's how he lived and that's how he died.

After listening to Elisabeth Elliot in Urbana, IL at a Inter-Varsity mission conference I read the book. I have a deep respect for Jim and Elisabeth. I love the quote on the front of the book and have used it many times.

I first read this book more than twenty years ago when I was a much younger man, and quite a new Christian. I was impressed and inspired by Jim Elliot who I saw as a kindred spirit: a man of intensity and dedication, someone who was much harder on himself than anyone else was. He learned to enjoy grace over time, but never wavered in his fervour to serve God.

This time, I saw the same man, but one who was so dedicated to what he believed God wanted for his life, that he lost it: killed by the very people he was trying to reach with the gospel. He died young, and I am still here. Still looking for my thing, still learning about God and myself and doing the best I can with what He has given me.

Particularly interesting to me this time round was his relationship with Elisabeth, the author of this impressive biography and the woman he eventually married. Theirs was a long, patient and chaste courtship which makes the relationships of today -most of them-look a little tawdry.

Anyway, if you're a Christian you'll enjoy In the Shadow of the Almighty. If you're not, but you like good biographies, you'll also enjoy it. If you are neither, you probably aren't reading this review because you are not at all interested.

For one week in the winter of 2004, I was moved into a different apartment while mine was renovated. A few weeks earlier, our Bible study leader (who is now in seminary) was so inspired by this book that he bought each of us a copy. No TV, no distractions, cold depressing January, and Mrs Elliot held my complete attention with this awe inspiring tale. Fast forward 3 years, and a friend/former Bible study guy is moving across the country to train to become a missionary pilot, citing this book as a turning point in his life. Jim Elliot is a powerful witness and an incredible Christian. It's almost frightening to see what is possible when one dedicates his life completely to Christ.

Frightening for reasons other than head hunting natives.

If you’re looking for encouragement for the mundane, strengthening of faith, conviction to pray and offer every part of your life to Jesus, this book is for you. I think coming across The Shadow of the Almighty is the start of a long reading journey for me, a journey that seeks genuine examples of self-sacrifice and believers carrying their cross. I can see how testimonies of faith will spur me on until the end. To God be the glory, and may my life be his!

Jim Elliot is sort of a hero of mine, and reading this, which is composed almost entirely of his diary and letters, just increases my respect for the man. He is a clear, strong thinker and writer-- much better, I think, than many people who earn their livings by writing-- and his personality is striking as well. The utter lack of ingenuousness, especially in one who wrote so much, is unfathomable to me. Most of us have a separate part of our personality that kind of observes the goings on of the rest to make sure it stays in line and looks cool when possible. Elliot didn't seem to have that function-- he directed all his energy, all the time, on the task at hand, and his self-examination was a much healthier and more conscious (more voluntary) thing than it is for me, at least.
An impressive, inspiring read.