Tune in as Joni reminds you that the greater things Jesus promises focus on spiritual growth and impacting lives through the Gospel – not just physical healing.
SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. I’m sure you can imagine how many people contact Joni with questions about hope, help, and healing. Well, here’s Joni with her response to the questions she gets asked most often.
JONI: And it’s that question of healing that most people write me about. Just recently, a well-meaning Christian wrote and insisted that he had the words, he had the prayer and, dare I say, he had the power to heal me of my quadriplegia. He wrote to tell me that he had great faith. Faith enough to believe Jesus in John 14:12 where the Lord says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Now, the way this Christian man saw it, Jesus did miraculous healings in his day, and He promised His followers that one day they would do even greater things than He did! “And I believe that, Joni,” this man wrote.
Now, this Christian guy, he might have good intentions, but I’m sorry, his theology is a mix of misplaced emotion and a shortsighted and, actually, an erroneous view of Scripture. When that man spoke of us doing greater things than Jesus, and he quoted John 14:12, he did not understand that Jesus is talking about something far greater than me getting up out of a wheelchair. Jesus is talking about something far grander than any healing of my spinal cord. What could be more wonderful than that? Well, consider this:
Think of it: Jesus invested three solid years of sharing the Gospel, and at the end of His life [even after all those miracles], He only had a handful of converts who kind of, sort of believed in Him in a half-hearted way. But once He went to the Father, then on Pentecost, thousands not only came to Christ, but paid their lives for it. These are the greater things that we do; greater than even Jesus did – all because our Lord went to the Father and released the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is much, much, much more concerned about opening the eyes of the spiritually blind, than He is opening physical eyes. The Spirit of Jesus is much more concerned about our spiritual walk with Him, than whether or not our legs can physically walk. God is much more concerned about opening the ears of the spiritually deaf. And when in John 14 our Lord promises that one day we will do greater things than He did when He was on earth, it is a powerful promise that you and I, His followers, will have far more “success,” as it were, when it comes to giving the Gospel. And friend, I will tell you that walking with Christ is far more satisfying than those days when I was on my feet.
At Joni and Friends, our theology is focused more on helping people have a closer daily walk with Jesus Christ, than a theology that insists God will physically heal those who can’t walk. Now, you may have a question about that, a question about healing. And if so, I encourage you to ask us your questions, even if they’re hard. Maybe you have prayed and yet your child’s medical condition has not improved. Well, I believe there are answers, and sometimes they are miraculous! So please, send in your questions to joniradio.org. In the meantime, keep giving the message that opens the eyes of the spiritually blind, that opens the ears of those who are deaf to God’s Word, and shows people how to walk every day with Jesus Christ. Send us your questions at joniradio.org, and we’ll be happy to answer them, straight from the heart and from the Word of God.
SHAUNA: We at Joni and Friends would love to pray for you and your troubles. So, share your prayer needs with us today at joniradio.org. And as always, thanks for listening to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope.
© Joni and Friends