Trials may catch you by surprise, but God uses every hardship to strengthen your faith and draw you closer to Jesus.
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SHAUNA: Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Here’s Joni to tell us about something that keeps surprising her, over and over again.
JONI: You would think I’d get it by now, what with five decades of paralysis under my belt, and having worn out at least, in that time, what, six wheelchairs. Still, it blindsides me; it takes me unawares; it ambushes me. I’m talking about trials. They still surprise me. Do they you? I don't know, I guess my human nature still expects life to be easy, you know, to go smoothly. Like, okay, here’s an example: at night, I use a breathing machine, and it means wearing a mask all night. And it’s one of these finicky masks that goes over your nose, and if it doesn’t rest on your nose just Goldilocks right, just perfectly, then air escapes, and it hits me in the eye. Now, other people – you know, if you're a CPAP user or BiPAP, whatever – if you wear such things at night you can, even though you might be half-asleep – you can probably reach up, and, you know, half-asleep, adjust the mask a bit and then, that’s it, you're back to sleep. But because of my paralysis, I cannot do that. When Ken starts me off at night, he has to put that mask on me just so, and I situate my head and dare not move my head on the pillow from that position, or the mask will slip, air will start hissing. And if that happens – and it sometimes it does after an hour or so – I’ve got to wake my husband up; he’s got to get up, redo the mask and even, well, even that readjustment might not last, and air will start hissing, and we'll have to do it again. Like, at 3:00 a.m. or 5:00 a.m. So, you get the picture.
Well, the other night it happened. The hissing air woke me up and, it’s like, “Why? What? Not this again!” I was so frustrated by this pesky problem. I felt helpless, not being able to adjust the mask myself. In addition, I felt like a big burden, and when morning arrived, I was so discouraged before the day had begun. So, back to my opening point. No matter how often trials happen, my knee-jerk response is to think, “What!? Why?! Not this again!” No matter what shape or size the trial, these things still surprise me; they still ambush me; they still sometimes plummet me into discouragement. So, yesterday I decided it was time for a refresher course. First Peter 4:12 says, “Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” And then the next verse explains why: don’t be surprised at these trials; they’re not strange or unusual because – now get this – they are designed by God to give you a taste of the hardships Jesus had to go through. So, right there in that verse, three quick little lessons here, because trials will happen; that is, they are guaranteed; they will come. So that means, don’t be surprised because elsewhere, the Bible says we are destined for them. And it’s why we shouldn’t be surprised when they are painful or messy or inconvenient. Because they come to test your faith, and from God’s point of view, that’s life; it’s why He sends trials in the first place.
And finally, it’s why we can rejoice. Because through those trials, you get to identify with Jesus. You get to see life as He saw it; you get to feel a little of His disappointment; and you get to participate with Him in His sufferings. And aren’t you glad He understands?! So, my husband Ken Tada and I are still trying to figure out this breathing machine thing, and the hissing of the air; and don’t worry, we are trying other masks to see if there might be a better fit. So, we have hope, real hope, in this trial. And I trust that you have hope in your trials, as well. Because they are designed by God to test your faith. So, don’t be surprised when life is painful. Friend, that's part of what it means to follow Jesus Christ!
© Joni and Friends