God can turn terrible trials that happen in your life into victories that’ll lead numbers of people to Christ.
SHAUNA: Hi, this is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Well, hey Joni, do I see a little tear in your eye?
JONI: You’re going to think this is odd, but Joni and Friends has just held 63 Family Retreats across the country, with a few more to go yet until the end of August. Texas to New England, up and down the West Coast, the Midwest, Eastern Seaboard, our ministry is introducing special needs families to Jesus [and that always gets me choked up]. And these families are really struggling. I was just reading how so many children with disabilities have come to Christ through our retreats. And whenever I hear that, whenever I read that boys and girls are learning about Jesus for the first time, I just tear up. I get choked up. Because for the most part, these disabled kids have never heard about “Joni.” The only thing these children know is that their parents are taking them to some retreat. But when they arrive, that is when the fun starts, including their introduction to Jesus Christ. But it’s not just children. It’s the whole family, whether at Family Retreats here in the U.S. or the more than 100 retreats for disabled kids and adults we’re holding in places like Nepal, Argentina, Chile, Thailand, Cuba and so many more. Then there are the disabled people this summer that have come to Christ through Wheels for the World. I mean, this is what makes me weep; this is why I tear up – God has used my quadriplegia in a way I never, ever would’ve imagined.
In fact, let me tell you this quick story. Several of my friends volunteered at our Michigan Family Retreat earlier this summer, and when they returned, they described how they enjoyed listening to the camp pastor who, every morning, spoke to the families; they called him Pastor Matt. All week long, Matt’s Bible messages centered on how these special needs families can find God’s good in their trials. True, our trials seem so pointless at the time, and yet, God always uses them for our benefit, and often we won’t understand the benefit right away. “For instance,” Pastor Matt asked the group. He said, “Would we all be here if Joni had jumped into the water… feet first?” My friends said that his statement resonated with everyone, just thinking of how the Lord is changing lives because a teenage girl once broke her neck in a dive. I mean it’s like John 9, like, my diving accident happened [and this is Jesus talking here] “…so that the works of God might be displayed…” I guess my broken neck happened so that the works of God might be displayed and end up benefiting and blessing so many, many others. So, I thank the Lord that I didn’t jump into that water feet first [which would have been fine]; but instead, I dove in headfirst, and a horrible tragedy resulted. But it ended up being a powerful victory because untold numbers of people have come to Christ. Praise God I did not jump into that water feet first!
So, friend, the testing of your faith, that distressing trial that you’re going through right now may seem pointless, but it is not. You may not see it right away, but the painful trial you are experiencing is all so that the works of God [the grace of God, the plan God, the purpose of God] might be displayed through you as you trust in him. So, read John 9 today, and be encouraged that as you yield your disappointment to Jesus and as you persevere through that trial, the works of God will be powerfully displayed for all to see. And your family, your friends, your neighbors just might come to know the Lord Jesus through that trial of yours.
© Joni and Friends