Suffering provides one of the best stadiums for God to show up and astound others with his greatness and mercy. When you face your trials with a godly response, the scoffing world cannot ignore the power of Jesus Christ at work in your life.
In a way, we are all Monday morning quarterbacks.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and it’s a common problem with us humans. We can brag about how great we are, but we have trouble making good on those words, right? In a way, we are all armchair quarterbacks. Like my husband. In the comfort of our living room – there he is watching an NCAA football game, and it is so easy for Ken Tada to know all the right calls the referees should be making. The way he yells out at the TV, you would think he expects the coaches to hear him! And I’ll admit, Ken has more knowledge than the average Monday Night Football fan, given that he has coached the sport at the high school level where he taught in fact. Still, high school football is very different from Division 1. It wouldn’t be a pretty sight if, on a moment’s notice, Ken got pulled from the stands to coach for USC’s offensive line. Or worse, if he were called in to substitute for a Heisman Trophy winner, right?
Rarely are we ever challenged to make good on our boasts. And when it does happen, we try our best to wriggle out of our claims. But God [unlike armchair quarterbacks], God never needs to take back what he has said. God never has to retract a boast. In fact, because he really is great and wonderful, he’s always looking for an opportunity to demonstrate that greatness to mankind. And your suffering provides one of the best platforms for him to show up and astound others with his greatness and mercy. Of course, God could glorify himself by miraculously removing your suffering. When he walked on earth, Jesus did all sorts of incredible things to ease human misery. And his purpose in these miracles? It says in chapter 11, that Jesus healed people of their sicknesses to glorify himself.
But what about today? Jesus is no longer walking among us doing the things He once did. Now, although he still can, and sometimes does, choose to show his power and mercy through miraculously removing suffering, he has another, less obvious but no less powerful, way of using suffering to glorify himself.
Strange as it may seem, God often not only allows, but designs that his people endure long periods of real difficulty. Now you might be thinking, “but isn’t he hurting his own cause when he does this?” Why would he let his followers experience sorrow and pain within plain view of unbelievers who scoff at Christianity?
Well I’ll tell you why. When you face your trials with a smile and a godly response, the scoffing world cannot ignore the power of Jesus Christ at work in your life. They can see the unexplainable presence of God’s peace in your life, even through your pain. The world stands back and is astounded at the joy that they see in your life. And they’re forced to at least consider the fact that God must be somebody special to inspire such loyalty. And that is a powerful witness to them – an unbelieving world! So, friend, if you would like to learn more ways in which God glorifies himself through suffering, then please let me send you my mini book today called “Finding Strength in Weakness.” It’s my gift to you, so go to joniradio.org today and ask for your free copy. Invite God to boast in his strength through your every weakness today. Let your life be the stadium in which God’s power is on display for others. Visit joniradio.org and look for today’s gift to you, my mini book called “Finding Strength in Weakness.”
© Joni and Friends