Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to “Joni and Friends.”
My friends David and Kim are experiencing an incredibly difficult season in their lives: for several years, David has been struggling with cancer in his body—more specifically, in his brain. It has been more painful than I can even imagine and I’ve had cancer; the accounts of what he has gone through with radiation and chemotherapy has been extremely aggressive. Yet with all this, with all the questions about an uncertain future, in the midst of constant doctor visits and hospital appointments, I received the most remarkable note from Kim the other day. Now remember, these two with their little family are going through terrible anguish, unbelievable pain and suffering, but in her note, Kim wrote:
"With all that we are going through, still, our time with God has been so unbelievably sweet and precious, and in the most unusual ways. Daily stress dissolves, and “the matrix” around us appears starkly as it is—so artificial and piddling below the heavenly. And I find myself looking at David and the children without a hint of annoyance, selfishness or accusation all because, in the midst of this battle against cancer, God has instantly melted away the crusty layers of life. And what I see clearly is the soul of the person (or people) that we love most, in an eternal setting, covered in grace, under the hand of Almighty, without the clutter of this world and this life. We have come to live in the truth that nothing is certain—not our next breath, or next year, or watching our children grow. A knife has carved off the calluses that build day by day, and we have a new perspective on the world. We didn’t before the cancer; but now we do."
Wow! Oh, my goodness, that is a remarkable outlook on their trials, but that wonderful sweet, nearness of the Savior is really available to all of us, no matter what our problems. Sometimes, though, that’s hard to grasp. We all know that the Bible talks about our trials as great opportunities, but too often we view them as large obstacles; awful inconveniences; annoying interruptions into our otherwise placid lifestyle. Terrible things we just have to plow through in order to get to the other end, in order to get life back to normal (whatever normal is). But trials are not annoying interruptions—they are purposed and intended by our wise God. Oh, if only we would recognize every difficult situation as something God has chosen to prove His love to us, then each trial would usher us into a place of shelter, divine rest, and a demonstration to others of God's power, just like Kim’s note shared. If we would look for the signs of His glorious handiwork, then every difficult mountain path will become one of ascension, one of transformation and glorification.
God says in the book of Job, chapter 38, “Have you entered the storehouses which I reserve for times of trouble?” Friend, God has storehouses of grace and hope, peace and mercy. But when it comes to that tough thing you are going through right now, let me ask, have you entered those storehouses? God has reserved them for times of trouble, and you, like my friends David and Kim, might be facing great trouble right now. Do you know that there is a storehouse (a warehouse, as it were) of grace and enablement just for you? Take a moment today to remember the way God has provided grace to you in your past trials. And then today, enter the storehouse of the Lord. And if you’d like to share this truth with others, visit my radio page at joniandfriends.org, scroll to the bottom of this transcript and just click on the Facebook share button. Tell others that there’s a storehouse of grace for them, as well!
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