If you are struggling with difficult circumstances right now – chronic pain, a difficult marriage, a prodigal child, illness – you may find yourself asking God, “Why are you allowing so much hardship in my life?” Friend, take heart that your trials are producing great spiritual benefits in your life. These momentary trials are preparing for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison!
Welcome to Joni and Friends, where the subject is often about hardship.
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada, and I have spent a long time studying that subject. And I’ve noticed one thing as I’ve studied – Scripture is constantly telling us to view life, especially when it’s hard, to view it from an eternal perspective. Because what is transitory, such as physical pain, will not endure. But the Bible says what is lasting, such as the eternal weight of glory accrued from that pain, that is going to remain forever. Everything else – numbing heartache, deep disappointment, circumstances out of our control – everything else, no matter how real it seems to us on earth, the Bible calls it “light and momentary” compared with our response and what it’s producing for us in heaven.
When I was first injured, let me tell you, this idea, this kind of biblical nonchalance about gut-wrenching suffering, it used to drive me crazy. Stuck in a wheelchair I would wonder, “Lord, how in the world can you consider my troubles light and momentary? I’m never gonna walk again, I’m never gonna run again. I’ll never be able to use my hands; my back aches; I’m trapped! Maybe you see all of this achieving an eternal glory, but all I see is one awful day after the next of life in this stinking wheelchair!” My pain screamed for my undivided attention, and it made me anxious to find a quick fix or an escape hatch right now.
But somewhere after the first five years of my life in my wheelchair, I noticed a change in my attitude toward hardships. I was beginning to see how my quadriplegia was working for my good and God’s glory. Simply put, it meant becoming more like Christ. For one thing, suffering was forcing me to make decisions about following God; I was choosing him more often over my doubts and fears. Also, suffering was doing a cleanup job on my character; I was able to stick to promises; I was able to quit whining, not be sloppy with relationships, and be more patient. Also, my thoughts were more pure. I could not reach for the common temptations that used to entice me – having no hands sure helped. Something else about suffering: it was making me more sensitive to others. Before my accident, I didn’t care much about people in wheelchairs, but now it was a different story. Also, I realized that being paralyzed was making heaven come alive, not in a cop-out way, but in a way that made me want to live better here on earth because greater things were coming in the next life.
In short, I was beginning to make sense of my suffering. And oh, isn’t that our heart’s desire when it comes to our own hardships? Don’t you want to be able just to understand? Well, now, many years later, I am more sure than ever that when it comes to our afflictions, God’s got his reasons. Good ones. I realize that a list of reasons can sound dry and technical, but I tell you, years ago when I was in that wheelchair, understanding the spiritual benefits behind my suffering helped answer – at least in part – that sticky question, “Why, God, have you allowed so much hardship in my life?”
And please know that we at Joni and Friends care about your struggles, too. Whether it’s an upcoming surgery, or a prodigal child gone astray, contact us today on my radio page at joniradio.org. We want to hear from you, and we want to join our Savior in heaven in interceding for your special needs. Again, just write us your prayer request at joniradio.org. And then please keep us posted on how you’re doing and what’s going on. Thanks for listening!
© Joni and Friends