If the Spirit puts it on your heart, please pray for Joni’s friend Rika and the pain she struggles with daily. And that’s putting your fingers on the promises of God!
SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope and today Joni’s putting her finger on a promise!
JONI: Well, as a quadriplegic, I cannot actually do that, but you know what I mean. How good it is to be able to put your finger on any promise from the Word of God and call it, make it, reserve it as your own. You know I’ve got a friend who does this for me all the time. Her name is Rika Theron, and she is one of my Pain Pals. Rika lives in South Africa and because of an unusual neuromuscular disease, has been pretty much bedridden for the last ten years or so. The other day she wrote me this, [she knew I was having a painful day] and she e-mailed me saying, “Joni, may the God with whom all things are possible, uphold you and help you with his victorious right hand today and the rest of this week according to the countless rock-solid promises in his word.” And then Rika gave me this powerful quote by Charles Spurgeon. He wrote: “I like in my time of trouble to find a promise which exactly fits my need, and then to put my finger on it, and say, ‘Lord, this is thy word; I beseech thee to prove that it is so, by carrying it out in my case. I believe that this is thine own writing; and I pray thee make it good to my faith.’”
Don’t you love that? And so, what did Rika do? Well, she took Spurgeon’s advice. Because the next thing in that email, she said, “So, Joni, I am putting my finger on verses like Isaiah 41 that says God is with me, upholding me with his righteous right hand.” And she put her finger on Psalm 18, reminding me that God is my rock and my fortress, my shield, and salvation and stronghold. Then Rika put her finger on another Bible promise for me; one from Psalm 46, reminding me of the promise that God is my ever-present help in times of trouble and pain. And Rika, bless her heart, went on and on, placing her finger on one Bible promise after the next. Oh, my goodness! To have this precious friend who struggles in her own painful circumstances from her bed; to have Rika put her finger on each of these promises and more and pray them over me? Well, it not only humbled me greatly, but – guess what? – my pain that day began to ease off by late afternoon. I just wish it were as easy for Rika [which is why, in return, I put my quadriplegic finger, so to speak, on soul-stirring, heart-strengthening Bible promises for her]!
You know, it says somewhere in Psalms that our comfort in suffering is this: the promises of God renew our lives. Rika believes that I believe that, and I trust that in your hardships today, you believe it. One more thing; I have experienced the salvation, the deliverance, the rescue of God. All because of the lifeline of his word. And I share all this to assure you that there’s a lifeline for you too. If you’re struggling in horrible circumstances, hold fast to God’s lifeline. Hold fast to his word. Grab onto it as never before. Because he promises you’ll see his goodness. You’ll be ok and you’ll be alright in the end. That is a great lifeline to hold on to.
SHAUNA: Listening friend, we want to pray for you, so go to joniradio.org today and leave us your prayer request. And while you’re there, check out the many resources and radio programs there at your fingertips. And be sure to share that link with a friend in encouragement too. That’s joniradio.org! That’s just one more way we can put our fingers on the promises of God!
© Joni and Friends