People will ask, "Joni, how do you deal with pain?" And I have a good answer!
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and as I've shared with you before, sitting in this wheelchair for as long as I have, living as a quadriplegic, it's created some significant problems in the last few years. You heard me off and on, tell you: I deal with chronic pain, and at times it is overwhelming. Now many people have been kind enough to write and assure me that they are praying – I so appreciate that! Others have sent me suggestions – doing certain exercises, applying certain ointments, magnets and electro-muscular stimulation; and even brewing certain teas and herbs. One woman even sent me horse liniment! But the scoliosis in my back doesn't respond to any of this.
So how do I deal with pain on a daily basis? Well, I will tell you there is great peace and relief when I don’t panic, when I don’t allow anxiety to rule the day. Instead, I have learned to look pain squarely head-on and – how can I describe this – I move forward into it; not resisting, not rebelling, but relaxing into it. I know that sounds strange, but it’s a way of “entering” into it. And it does make a difference. They say that half of what causes pain is stress and anxiety anyway… so instead I breathe deeply, ask the Lord of peace to quiet my anxiety, repeat that God is in control, he hasn't abandoned me, there is a purpose; none of this takes him unawares or by surprise; he had allowed it, he has permitted it… well, and things like that really does relieve the discomfort.
A Dutch theologian put it this way, “If only we will take the courage to fix our gaze deliberately upon the stern countenance of grief, and enter unafraid into the darkest recesses of our trouble, we shall find the terror gone, because the Lord has been there before us, and, coming out again, has left the place transfigured, making of it by the grace of His resurrection a house of life, the very gate of heaven.” Don’t you love that idea? That when we enter unafraid into the deepest recesses of our troubles, when we move forward into them, we find that not only has Jesus been there before us, but he's left it changed, transformed, transfigured… By his grace and resurrection, he has made the deepest, darkest, scariest, part of that painful problem, a place where you grow, a place of life where you experience a deeper intimacy with God, where, well… You, too, are transfigured.
My husband Ken Tada knows this. Just earlier today we were talking about the cancer we battled last year, and he was reminding me that during my time of chemotherapy, during all that pain and hardship, our best, our sweetest, most treasured experiences of heaven were finding Jesus in the middle of the hell. And I have discovered it is the same way with not only cancer or pain, but any problem... your problems. It is often in the darkest hour, during the most pressing danger, that Jesus is closest to us… Peace comes from knowing he is in the middle of it all. His nearness gives hope. His protection gives us life… As Philip Keller once said, "In the midst of our danger there is delight." We need not be alarmed or anxious. He is here!
Friend, whatever problem you are facing, face it! Whatever grief problem awaits, don't run away. Release your anxiety, stop resisting, relax and move forward into it. You'll discover Jesus has gone before you and paved the way with grace, transforming not only the terror of the trial… but transforming you.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends