When life is hard, and you think your situation is impossible, choose to believe God. Believe that he will give you the grace to endure. Believe that he will strengthen you in Christ. You can rejoice in suffering, but only when you die to self and live to Christ!
There’s not a cross so heavy that it outweighs the grace given to carry it.
I’m not sure who said that, but it has been my motto for years. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and it’s true. Jesus will never give you or me a cross so burdensome, so hard, so heavy, that it outweighs the grace God gives to carry it. And I believe that. ’Cause in this wheelchair, every day I’ve got this incredible chance to prove it. Especially as I get older. Age only makes my disability harder and heavier to bear. And when that happens, first thing in the morning when I sit up in my wheelchair; when I sit there, you know, kind of like assessing things – my stiffness; my soreness; my goodness, there’s some new pain in my shoulder – when that happens, I remind myself that Christ did not call me to follow him; he called me to die for him.
For me – and for you, too – the Christian life isn’t something we agree to as though it were a pact between you and Jesus. The Christian life is not a letter of agreement, but now that things are really hard, you’re wondering what you signed up for. No, it’s not a negotiation between you and God. It is not a contract. The Christian life is a death. It is not a “follow me” sort of thing; it is a “death” sort of thing. It is a daily dying to yourself and living for Jesus. So, exactly what did you sign up for? Well, Jesus says in Luke 9:23; he said, “If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross.” And you know what happens on a cross, right?! However painful and unpleasant it is – no matter how difficult your situation – you take up the cross and you say, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Now, most likely you are not in a wheelchair like me; your cross looks different. But we both can agree, it is so hard and it’s really painful. And at times, it honestly feels utterly impossible. And if that’s you, then do what I do when I wake up, facing another day of quadriplegia, and a monthly anti-cancer shot that only exacerbates my pain – I mean, before my get-up girl comes into the bedroom to help me, I groan and I say, “God, I cannot do this. But for some reason, you think I can. At least, with your grace, you think I can. So I'm going to believe you. I’m going to believe that you’re not out to hurt me but to help me. I am going to take you at your word and place my confidence in you and say, ‘I cannot do this. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’”
Oh, friend, right there is the way you die to self and live to Christ. As you press your doubts and fears and weaknesses into Jesus, his strength – it absolutely pours into you. And, yes, there will be miraculous moments when you’re even able to “be joyful in hope” like it says in Romans 12. Even rejoice in suffering. Is that possible? Yeah, it is, but only when you deny yourself; that is, die to self and live in the strength of Christ. That is what you signed up for. Life is hard, and it is getting harder all the time. But our Savior has proven his trustworthiness in the worst of your trials. I mean, come on – after all, he died for you. Don’t you think that proves his loving intentions toward you? Of course, it does. So when it comes to your suffering, Jesus doesn’t extend to you a letter of agreement; he doesn’t offer you a contract; he extends to you his love, his grace, his help, his hope. So thank you for letting me share this hope with you in your hardship today.
© Joni and Friends