The greater your need, the greater your capacity for grace. So give thanks for those weaknesses and afflictions that remind you of your neediness. And on this Thanksgiving Day, thank God for meeting every need with his abundant mercy and grace.
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Yep, I’m the lady in the wheelchair who’s extremely thankful!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I know it sounds odd, but it’s my wheelchair that’s taught me to be thankful. I was thinking of this the other day when I was at home in front of my computer. Ken Tada has set up a little corner in the living room where I can work next to our sliding glass door, and I spend a lot of time there. And when my eyes need a break, when I need to switch focus, I look beyond the sliding glass door at a plaque on our patio wall. It’s surrounded by potted plants, and flowers, and a wren house. It’s a restful collection of color and greenery, but my favorite thing on that patio is the plaque on the wall. It reads: “So very Thankful…Forever Grateful…Unbelievably Blessed.”
And I look at that plaque, and my eyes get wet. ’Cause after so many decades of quadriplegia, I’m so very thankful, forever grateful, unbelievably blessed. And here’s why: God is an avalanche of help and hope; it is who he is. He is such a profusion of power and joy, that his Spirit spills and splashes over, coming at us like a raging river of unending grace. And that grace is actually looking and seeks to fill, it looks to pour itself into, an empty vessel, a willing vessel; not a Christian who thinks, “Yes, the death and resurrection of Christ provides benefits to me, and as a believer, I’m in line to receive his benefit.” No, it’s the Christian who says, “Help, me, Jesus. I need you! I’m empty; I need you desperately; come fill me!”
I would not be that empty vessel, that needy Christian, were it not for my wheelchair. Just like water that overflows, it looks to fill the lowest level – and so does grace. It looks to fill the most lowly believer. And my wheelchair keeps pushing me lower and lower and lower. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” There it is. That’s the point. Grace is for times of need. And the needier you are, the greater your capacity for grace. So the challenge is to constantly recognize your need. To be aware that you are needy. Like David who, despite being a king, was able to say, “I am poor and needy.” The wheelchair does that for me, and I’m so thankful, forever grateful and unbelievably blessed. Blessed with peace, joy, perseverance, courage, endurance, hope, and so much more.
So today on Thanksgiving, boast in your afflictions; your “wheelchairs,” as it were, for then you can more easily see yourself as an empty vessel in need of filling. God loves it when we see ourselves that way. For then he gives more than enough mercy and grace to help in times of need. These are great reflections for Thanksgiving. So around your table today, take a minute to thank God for the hardships that underscore how needy you are. I know I’m going to be looking at my wheelchair and doing the same. The weathered plaque on my patio wall with precious words of gratitude reminds me of the many blessings for which I’m thankful: salvation in Christ, freedom from the clutches of sin, a home in heaven, escape from hell, and a Savior to worship. And that’s what makes my Thanksgiving day filled with gratitude. I pray the same for you. From all of us at Joni and Friends, have a blessed, blessed Thanksgiving!
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