God always listens and answers.
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Pain and Providence – Pain and chronic illness can erode your joy like acid and can lead you to question God and his power. Join Joni in taking a close look at what the Bible says about pain and the sovereign providence of God.
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SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Do you ever wonder, is God listening? Well, listen to our dear friend Joni as she shares her insights on that very question.
JONI: My friend Diana struggles with that. She suffers from intractable pain – Lyme’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, myalgic encephalomyelitis. And that is a mouthful. But for Diana, it’s anything but funny. It never used to be this hard for her, but lately she spends weeks in bed and recently she told me, “Joni, sometimes I do not have the strength to lift even my head. It is that painful!” Now, I do not suffer with that degree of pain, but I can understand her question. Is God listening? Because sometimes Diana’s situation does not change for weeks, even months. It’s day-after-day, lying in bed and unable to move because it makes it hurt so bad.
Now, occasionally you may feel as though you are flattened; your face is squished and hard against the floor, and you don’t even have the strength to lift your head. If so, I want you to draw the same encouragement that Diana found in a story in Numbers 21. There out in the wilderness, God’s people were in terrible trouble. So, they cried out to God for answers. But the answer God gave was so odd; like, “Are you sure, Lord? Are you really listening?” Because God told them that if they would simply look at this bronze snake that Moses had fastened to a pole, their rescue would be assured. It’s all they had to do; that was their answer. Just look. Just lift your eyes to the pole that was raised up. And reading this, Diana knew what – or rather who – was on that pole. Because in John 3, Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes might have eternal life in Him.” You know, if you feel overwhelmed today, lift your eyes. Just look. Look at Jesus. Sometimes rescue is that close. So, you need to know that for the many months Diana has been bedridden, Jesus has been her close and intimate companion.
Sometimes answers are not in black and white. They are not presented as formulas; like, “If you do this or that, relief will come.” Most of the time, God’s answers are in the person Jesus Christ. And it’s not like you got to jump through hoops in order to find relief. You don’t have to go on some long journey or pilgrimage to find Him. You don’t have to track Him down. No, God has made Himself accessible, reachable, findable. Just look up and call on His name.
So, back to that question, is God listening? Well, you bet He is. And my friend Dave Deuel wrote an excellent booklet with that very title. There’s one part in the book where Dave recounts all those questions that Job posed to God, yet for 37 chapters God never gave Him an answer. And Job must have been wondering, Lord, are you listening? Well, the Lord definitely was, because in the 38th chapter, God proves He was listening the entire time, and He responds to Job’s questions one-by-one. Yep, God listens, and there is an answer.
SHAUNA: Listening friend, isn’t it good to know that God really is listening to the cries of our hearts? Knowing that makes our burdens feel a little lighter, doesn’t it? But we still need prayer to get through those hard days – or to get through any day, really! So go to joniradio.org and let us know how we can pray for you. And remember, today lift up your head, turn your eyes to Jesus, because your rescue is that close. I’ll see you later at joniradio.org. God bless you friend, and thanks for listening!
© Joni and Friends