I will never do it again. Ever. Recently I was in Washington DC in meetings all afternoon. Ken and I had gotten up early and it was a full day… and what did I do? We caught a plane at 7:30 in the evening to fly from Washington to Los Angeles. Ken had warned me not to do that… but I was anxious to get home and so I thought I would just bite the bullet. Well… what I experienced halfway through the flight was biting pain in my lower back. Nothing Ken did could make me comfortable.
I asked him to get a book I was reading out of my handbag. (When you’re in pain, the best thing to do is to find a good distraction to take your mind off your discomfort, right?). The book was called The Heavenly Man and it’s the true story of a Chinese house pastor named Brother Yun. I had started reading it back in Washington so I was happy I had several hours on the plane to finish it up. And was I glad I had that testimony of dear Brother Yun.
This Christian pastor went through incredible persecution and hardships! He was in and out of prison, beaten… kicked and spat upon… left for days without food or water. And sitting there in my airplane seat – well, I tell you – my little old pain-in-the-back began to feel like “nothing.” In his book, Brother Yun constantly quoted one Scripture after the next about facing hardships and pain – and I was amazed at how every Scripture seemed to be written exactly for him.
And that’s when it hit me. I looked up from my book and realized that the same Scriptures that saw Brother Yun through the toughest of times… those Scriptures were written exactly for me. Me, paralyzed and in a wheelchair and dealing with back pain.
Oh, the power of God's Word! And I'll tell you what else – the power of an inspiring testimony! The life and witness of Brother Yun inspired me to smile the rest of that long and difficult flight. My discomfort was one more open door deeper into the fellowship of sharing in Christ’s sufferings… a fellowship that includes Brother Yun and countless other house pastors in China.
And that fellowship includes you – yes, you, friend – as you deal with your own hardships today. God wants to use the power of your testimony, your example, to inspire and encourage others who watch the way you face your own trials. Titus 2:6-7 says, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good...”
Something I will never do is book a late flight home from the east coast… and something else I will never do is forget the example of dear Brother Yun. His testimony… his witness… and his example.
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JONI AND FRIENDS
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