When my mother-in-law was struggling with cancer years ago, Ken and I made regular visits with her to the UCLA cancer clinic. It was very hard at first, I mean to sit there and watch Ken’s mother be hooked up to that IV… and then sitting flipping through magazines, killing time. But somewhere after the second or third visit, we began to see that God didn’t want us to kill time, and He certainly didn’t want us to waste the opportunity. We decided to reach out to the people God put in our path there at the clinic. And we ended up becoming good friends with the nurses on call, and we even got a chance to talk one-on-one with other patients. In fact, for those who expressed an interest, I sent them the Joni book and told them about how God really released me from depression after I broke my neck. We even heard back from several of families.
Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up in the places we do -- very specific reasons. And the Lord mentions those reasons in Luke, the 21st chapter. Jesus was talking to His followers and He didn’t want to mince words about what they were facing. And so, He told them that people would “lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
My word, I don’t think Jesus took a breath there. In the span of one sentence, He tells His followers to expect suffering, hardship, pain, and problems... -- we all know that the Lord's not telling us anything new there. But it’s what He says next. He says, “This will be an opportunity to bear witness.” Did you get that? There are reasons we end up in the places we do, whether it’s a waiting room in a hospital, a rehab clinic, a parent support group, a doctor’s office, or even an automobile repair shop waiting for them to fix our bent fender after that accident!
Because friend, when you suffer – whether it’s persecution or garden variety problems – you will be brought before others at that hospital or cancer clinic or even that repair shop, you will encounter people you would not otherwise meet were it not for your bad medical condition, or your recovery from surgery, or your divorce or automobile accident or whatever. And God has designed it, He’s allowed it so that “this will be your opportunity to bear witness.”
Jesus Christ is infinitely worthy. Every occasion – especially occasions where you normally would not be – each is a golden opportunity to show that your Savior is worth more than the luxury of self-pity or complaining or bitterness about your circumstances. Remember, you are where God has put you for a good reason, so please grab hold of that wonderful fact and take the opportunity to bear witness to your good and great God.
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JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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