On Joni’s birthday week, she’s embracing every challenge that God gives her; knowing his power, love, and grace will carry her through every trial.
In honor of Joni's birthday, join us in spreading the Gospel around the world to people with disabilities who really need the hope of Christ. Help us celebrate here!
SHAUNA: I’m Shauna with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Thanks for listening today. Joni, today is your birthday! And I want to be the first one to say Happy Birthday Joni!
JONI: Oh, thank you Shauna and I am raising the roof on this celebration, I really am. I don’t know how God does it [well, yes, of course, I know how he does it]; he’s sustained me in this wheelchair for another year, Shauna!
SHAUNA: Oh, praise God.
JONI: And he’s done it [get this] “in accordance with his pleasure and will, to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given [me, a quadriplegic] in the One he loves.” Now, that of course, is Jesus, the one we all love. And the thing about Jesus accomplishing his will for his own pleasure – that’s straight out of Ephesians 1:6. And on my birthday today, with this quadriplegia and chronic pain and a few more new challenges with my renal system – you know, the kidneys, what not? Well, I am happily embracing it all, no matter how painful it gets, or if I have to lose my catheter and trade it in for something else. Oh, my goodness, what if I get pneumonia? Whatever God has in store for the next year of my life, I know that God will accomplish his perfect will. That’s what it tells me in Ephesians. And that will in which he has great pleasure, all because with his power, Jesus is going to help me live to the praise of his glorious grace – grace that he has freely given me for every single trial, every test of my faith, every time I look down at my wheelchair and I think, “God, I can’t do this.” But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Now, I realize that’s a tall order for someone to say and really believe it, really hold onto that promise before God in exchange for the strength he gives. But his promises are that true, they’re that trustworthy, they’re that dependable. And friend, this is what I’m celebrating today on my birthday. At my age, every difficult situation I’ve encountered has been chosen by God as a way to prove his love to me and demonstrate his power to the watching world. It’s not always obvious in the moment. My broken neck and my chronic pain and lung problems and this new challenge with my renal system, all of it presents a temptation, doesn’t it? A temptation for me to complain. A temptation to whine or want to stay in bed because it’s easier. Or a temptation to withdraw from life. But no, always, always, when I lean on Jesus, I learn the depth of his love, I see more of his magnificent power, and I experience more of his compassionate grace in a way that keeps me from stumbling on the edge of each trial.
And friend listening, I want you to join me in this. Would you partner with me on my birthday in trusting God to this degree when you stumble into a trial? Will you believe that God is building on the work he began in your life long ago, and that he will bring it to completion just as he says in Philippians 1? “Being confident of this [would you please be confident of this?], that he who began a good work in you is going to carry it into completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And you know what? This is the exact same message we give countless people with disabilities that we reach for Christ all around the world through Joni and Friends. So, let me know please that you will rise to a new level of confidence in Christ. Tell me about it at joniradio.org so we can pray for you. And while you’re there, watch a brief little video I posted today to not only encourage you, but to give you a chance to give a birthday gift in my honor. Help us at Joni and Friends to spread this invigorating message around the world to people with disabilities who really, really need the hope of Christ.
© Joni and Friends