God does not always heal in response to our prayers for healing, but he does work wonders out of suffering. Your suffering can be used to share the Gospel with people around the world who have never heard of Jesus!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I love the Holy Land.
And ever since Ken Tada and I visited Israel in 1998, I have been so captivated by this amazing land, and its timeless history, and its resilient people. For me, the highlight of that trip was visiting the actual Pool of Bethesda where, in John 5, we are told of one man who had been lying there beside that pool for thirty-eight years. The account goes on to say that “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time,” he approached the disabled man and he asked if he wanted to be healed. Now, I cannot tell you how many times back when I was first injured I would picture myself there in John 5 at the pool of Bethesda, on a blanket, perhaps lying next to the paralyzed man on his straw mat. He was waiting for an angel to stir the waters, and there I was waiting for Jesus. And in my fantasies, I would see Jesus pausing by the pool, and I would see myself crying out to him, not wanting him to leave, not wanting him to miss me. I’d pray, “Oh, Jesus! Jesus! Over here! Don’t pass me by. Here I am! Heal me! Help me! Don’t leave me here like this!” Well, God did leave me like this. And when I visited the Pool of Bethesda in 1998 – I mean, decades after those desperate prayers – as I sat in my wheelchair overlooking the dusty ruins of that ancient pool, thinking of how I used to fantasize about my own healing, tears flowed down my cheeks, and I kept thanking the Lord that he did not heal me.
Because just look at all that God has done through my wheelchair. I mean, Joni and Friends has delivered well over 200,000 wheelchairs and Bibles around the world. We’ve given the Gospel to countless disabled people. Only heaven’s going to reveal the many people with disabilities and their families who have their names written in the Book of Life because of our efforts to bring hope and spiritual healing to the world’s weary and wounded. So, you can see why visiting the Pool of Bethesda meant so much to me and my husband back in 1998 when we saw those old ruins in the Old City.
And guess what? We’re going back. Well, maybe not me and Ken, but this week Joni and Friends is heading to Israel and the West Bank to bring hope and spiritual healing to the weary and wounded in that part of the world. Today, a small Wheels for the World team flies to the Middle East to distribute wheelchairs to disabled people living in the West Bank. That area remained under Jordanian rule until 1967, when it was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War. Israelis live there now, as do Palestinians, and, to this day, there are tensions about who should be in control. And so, the hope of the Gospel is really needed. So, our Wheels for the World team will be serving alongside our partners at Lifegate – I mean, these dear friends have been helping the disabled in the Holy Land for 35 years – and as we work alongside them, distributing wheelchairs to what, about 180 people, each person with a disability will receive a Bible in their own language and a Joni book. Could be in Hebrew, could be in Arabic or English, but no matter what the language, it’s a Bible and a Joni book for them, plus the wheelchair and each family hearing about the Gospel and talking one-on-one with a pastor and getting connected to a caring church.
So, the ministry of the Pool of Bethesda continues, doesn’t it? And I am thrilled that the healing hope of Jesus Christ will be ministered this week among the disabled on the West Bank as we share hope in their hardship. So, pray for Wheels for the World today in the Middle East.
© Joni and Friends