When you stay close to God in your suffering, you are proclaiming the glory that belongs to Him.
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SHAUNA: I’m Shauna with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Thanks for listening today.
JONI: Recently, I came across a story by Jonathan Darville who pastors in the PCA. He’s got chronic Lyme disease and has suffered more than a few serious medical problems as a result. Well, he was struggling to come to grips with all of it, and then Jillian, his wife shared with him something simple, yet profound. And it caused him to write this. He said, “We were sitting in our car in a parking lot of Chick-Fil-A. Jillian was eating dinner and patiently listening to me as I was wrestling to make sense of what was happening to us in the last months. And then in a poignant moment, she stopped, looked at me, and said, ‘Honey, I’ve been thinking about this. And if you could give God more glory right now by being healthy – then guess what? You would be healthy. But you’re not. So, apparently, you can bring God more glory right now by being sick.”’ [And then Jonathan continued] He said, “That was the most comforting thought that she could have shared with me in that moment. It silenced me. It stopped the bleeding. Not only was my suffering under the sovereign control of our great God, but it was being used for His greater glory. In 1 Peter 1:6-7, it says, ‘Though now, for a little while, if necessary, we are suffering trials of various kinds so that the tested, genuineness of our faith may result in praise, and honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.’” There Jonathan ended his story.
And kudos to Jillian for sharing that astounding fact of the Christian life. Because we suffer trials of all kinds – you could be childless, you could be a prisoner; you could be without a job, or live in a wheelchair like me, or you could really be struggling with Lyme’s disease like Jonathan. But know this: God’s highest, His most exalted purpose in your suffering is that you glorify Him. You see, God’s glory is the radiant beauty of all His perfections; His glory is the radiance of all that He is, all His goodness. And He chooses suffering as the stage on which His glory is best displayed. His glory is not merely power and majesty, it’s beauty – the breathtaking worth of all that God is. And when Jonathan trusts God in his Lyme’s disease, he makes God look beautiful. He shows the world the amazing worth of all that God is – the world will see his good works [that is his confidence in Christ] and glorify the Father who is in heaven. In Jonathan’s suffering, he’s got a chance to display God’s goodness and grace. And when, in your afflictions, you live for God’s glory, you experience the greatest joy and peace and satisfaction ever.
We cannot add to God’s glory [He’s already infinitely glorious]. But when we trust Him through hardship, that response is the highest sort of praise for His glory. We are honoring God as we live by faith, even in spite of pain and disappointment. When you suffer like Jonathan yet bite your lip from complaining and hold fast to His Word, you are recognizing the greatness of God. We cannot add glory to Him, we can’t make Him more radiant, but when we stay close to Him in our suffering, we are proclaiming the glory that belongs to Him.
SHAUNA: Oh, Joni, it’s a little like Psalm 29:2, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name.”
JONI: That’s right.
SHAUNA: And so, I hope – Joni and I truly pray – that whatever trouble or trial you’re in the midst of right now, believe God. Trust God. Honor God and ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Oh, and Jillian? Bless her heart, she would say the same.
© Joni and Friends