Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and perhaps you know this old Gospel song:
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hands.
Than to be the king of a vast domain
And be held in sin’s dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
And believe me, when I sing this song I sing it from the heart. I really would rather have Jesus. I would rather have Him than be out of this wheelchair and on my feet not knowing Him.That’s how satisfying my Savior Jesus is. That’s how gratifying being close to Him really is. Jesus is that fulfilling. Being near to Him is better than any amount of walking, especially if that walking takes me down the wrong road. Being up close to Jesus is better than having use of my hands, especially if my hands were to reach for all the wrong things. Oh, what a happy blessing my quadriplegia is for it keeps me so very satisfied in Jesus.It keeps me singing this song, “I would rather have Him than anything this world affords today.”
And the best – the very best part is – I can do for others is to help them be happy in Jesus, too. For that matter, the greatest ministry that other people, that my friends and my husband and coworkers, the greatest ministry they can have in my life is for them to be happy in Christ, to enjoy Him. It’s like what George Mueller once wrote. He said, “Get up in the morning. Go to the Word of God and get your heart happy in God before you go out and meet other people.”
Because you and I are intimately and intricately connected to our Christian brothers and sisters, I know that my courage, I know that my attitude rubs off on people. Courage always breeds courage in other people. I also know that in some mystical way that I can’t explain, God takes my joy and he infuses it into the hearts of other people. My victories over sin strengthen others in the same battle.When people see me satisfied in Christ, then it inspires them to do the same. It is part of the mystery of being one being united in the body of Christ.We may share each other’s sorrows, but we also share each other’s joy and victories.
So I charge you to do this today: Get your heart happy in God before you go out and meet other people. Make it your fight to stay satisfied in Him. Prefer Jesus over all other things. Choose Him before any other pleasure. The cosmic stakes are high, very high, so today the command is: Be happy in Jesus and people around you will never be quite the same.
© Joni and Friends
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376