You need to remind yourself again and again of God’s wise and loving control, not because it’ll immediately make sense of things, but because it’ll give you a stronger faith and a peaceful heart.
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SHAUNA: We can all agree that there are times when God brings things into our lives that just don’t seem good. In fact, those things may even seem bad. Listen now to Joni and prepare to be encouraged.
JONI: In fact, those things may even seem bad – very, very bad. Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I know you’d agree. You might be a person of strong faith, with a Bible college degree; this may be your ninth year of doing Bible Study Fellowship, and still God will confuse you. There will be moments when you simply do not understand what in the world is going on, and your theological knowledge of God will only take you so far.
Like for instance when I broke my neck. Now, sure I was a relatively new Christian, and I wanted a closer walk with the Lord. To be honest, I was having trouble breaking free of some sinful habits and I really, really needed God’s help. So shortly before high school graduation, I asked God to do something in my life, anything, just to draw me closer to him. I wanted to know him more; I wanted his help in making me more like Jesus. In short, I just wanted to be nearer to Christ.
That is what I prayed, in all sincerity. And then, not but a few weeks after graduation from high school, I went swimming and I broke my neck. And suddenly, the God, that I knew to be good, had allowed something in my life that was not good, but seemed very, very bad – bad like quadriplegic bad. Oh, sure, I knew Romans 8:28, and I knew Ephesians 1 where God works out everything in conformity with his will for us – but total paralysis for the rest of my life? My biblical knowledge kept coming up short.
Thankfully though, I didn’t turn away from God, but I turned toward him, even though I believed he was behind the whole mess. And because I turned to him, eventually I was able to see that real wisdom is resting in the one who holds all of my “what-ifs” and “if onlys” in his loving hands. Real, lasting peace – the kind of peace that does not rise and fall with circumstances – that peace is not to be found in picking apart your life until you understand all the pieces. You will never understand it all because God keeps some of it shrouded in mystery – he does that for our own good and for his glory. I mean, let’s just pretend, back when I was injured, that I really did have the ability to see things as I do now. My faith would’ve never grown. It never would’ve been tested. Never been strengthened. God knows, he understands, and he’s s in control of what appears to be absolute chaos in your life. He is never surprised, he is never confused, he never worries or loses a night’s sleep, and he never walks off the job to take a nap. It’s just that sometimes his ways are not our ways. It’s why Isaiah 26 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in you.” And that’s all we need to know when things look very, very bad. We need to trust that God is not bad but simply dealing with us in a concealed and sometimes strangely mysterious way – always for reasons that are wise, good, and specific.
You and I need to remind ourselves again and again of God’s wise and loving control, not because it’ll immediately make sense of things, but because it’ll give you a stronger faith and a peaceful heart.
SHAUNA: Don’t forget to stop by joniradio.org today. There you’ll find a treasure trove of Joni’s timeless inspiration, and all her radio programs point to God’s goodness even when things in your life look very, very bad.
© Joni and Friends