AL: Someone said that there are more than 3,000 promises in the Bible, but that unfortunately we Christians so often fail to claim them. So, we want to talk about that today with our Joni and Friends radio host, Joni Eareckson Tada. And, maybe, Joni, a good place to begin would be to ask you to start by telling us what some of your favorite promises are in Scripture? I got you there!
JONI: Oh you really did! That’s an impossible question.
AL: No, really, there’ve been some marvelous promises in the Bible that you’ve gone to time and time again, haven’t you?
JONI: Well, yes, and I think they are promises that we all love to lean on… how Jesus has said He will never forsake us or leave us…now that’s a good one! And how He has promised us a home in heaven, a place at His table…
AL: And that our names are written in the Book of Life…
JONI: And, that there are no erasers in heaven…
AL: Promise?!
JONI: Yep, I do! Your name is eternally secure, Al…
AL: Seriously, though, Joni… you’ve been in that wheelchair a long time… surely there must be a special promise that, well, that just sees you through.
JONI: Well, if you were to back me into a corner, I would probably say Philippians 1:29, where it says that it has been granted, it has been given to me, it has been promised that I should suffer for His sake.
AL: … Well… that’s not quite what I was expecting.
JONI: I realize that, but to me it’s so precious, it’s so important. Because all of the promises of God are for all His people, yet I think there are special promises for those who suffer. Listen to the way Samuel Rutherford explains it. He says that “It is no small comfort that God has written some scriptures to you which He has not written to others… your God is like a friend that sends a letter to a whole house and family, but speaks in that letter to some by name, to those that are dearest to Him in the house.” And, Al, that’s why I look at Philippians 1:29 as a special promise written for me in this wheelchair. Because I'm not suffering for nothing… I'm not going through all this for no purpose. The paralysis is no accident, it’s not some fluke. God has promised me that I am enduring this hardship for the sake of His Son. I'm not suffering for nothing… I'm suffering for the glory of Jesus, to showcase His grace to sustain, to prove that His strength is enough in my weakness, to tell the world that I’d rather be in this chair knowing Him than on my feet without Him. This is what it means to suffer for His sake. And glory of glories, it’s been given to me to do that. Me?! I can’t believe it. I get the honor. I get the distinct privilege. It’s been granted; it’s been promised to me to suffer for His sake. I am that one in the house who is dearest to Him… and He has written Philippians 1:29 for me… it’s a promise for anyone who will take it to heart through their hardship.
AL: That’s such a great encouragement. Thanks, Joni, for sharing those things….as we think about the fact that God has promised, and God will fulfill His promise…
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