Are you in the midst of suffering? Hold fast to the promises of God and use them to fight against despair. God delights when you bring his promises to him in exchange for the blessings those promises guarantee!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada sharing hope in your hardship.
Like, I can’t tell you the times I’ve needed hope in my own hardships. Most of my paralyzed life has been a fight. It’s been a good fight, even as I look ahead to July 30, the day that’ll mark 55 years of living with quadriplegia. Honestly, can you imagine putting up a good fight for that long? Believe me, it has not been easy. But the worst of my depression is behind me. Also, feelings of worthlessness are far in the past. I have learned to actually, well, to actually thrive, living without use of my hands and legs; I have learned how to manage my chronic pain (not always, but, you know, for the most part), and, miracle of miracles, I have kept my smile. I have been able to choose to smile through this long and difficult fight. And so, let me share the kind of ammunition that I have used in this fight to stay spiritually focused and emotionally healthy.
The Bible verse I’ve gripped so hard, so many times, the passage of Scripture that has, for me, assured victory in this battle, is 1 Corinthians 10:13, "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." You know, we don’t appreciate the life-transforming power that’s ours in this Bible promise, but it is our best ammunition. Here, in 1 Corinthians 10, God guarantees that every temptation that comes our way – you know, the temptation to cave into feelings of worthlessness or the temptation to allow fear or anxiety to overwhelm – every temptation comes with a “way out” so that you can endure it; and dare I say, endure it with a smile. So what is that “way out?” I believe it’s the promises of God.
Years ago, when I was still struggling, I quickly discovered that depression can rob you of your will to live. And what I needed back then was a way of escape, a way out of my dismal misery. I recall when I first felt overcome by paralysis and unable to move, lying in bed; unable to lift my head from the pillow or adjust my position in bed this way or that, ah, it was so claustrophobic. As though I were in prison. But then someone showed me the way out through an amazing Bible promise. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” That was a promise, and at night when I began to feel confined, panicky, paralyzed in bed, like I was in prison, I gave it to God in exchange for freedom. Freedom from fear and anxiety. I had to present that Bible promise to God time and again; it was a battle; it was a fight, but eventually God exchanged that promise for the glorious sensation of freedom. I could lie in bed paralyzed and not feel panicky!
That was a long time ago, and for all these 55 years, it’s the way I’ve continued to fight off temptations to collapse, give in, or despair. Each promise that God gives is something that we can take to him in exchange for the blessings that that promise guarantees. And oh, friend, as I celebrate the benchmark of reaching 55 years in my wheelchair, I am glorying in the Captain of my salvation, Jesus Christ, in whom every promise is yes and amen. So, join me in this valiant fight using the promises of God, and join me tomorrow as I highlight more lessons God has taught me in these 55 years in my chair!
© Joni and Friends