Hi, friend, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and this is "Joni and Friends."
Welcome to this special edition and I am so glad you've taken time to just listen to what I'm learning from God's Word in this wheelchair. And I am learning a lot! Let me explain. You see, often during a single day at work, I may have to make 26 different adjustments in my wheelchair. When pain begins to burn in my back, it's, "Judy, would you please push my hips this way... lift up on that side... Okay, move my knee to the right... would you please stretch my arm up? (And 30 minutes goes by with no relief, so I buzz Judy again, asking her to come in my office, “Would you come back in my office and let’s try loosening my corset; maybe that’ll do it.”) And thank you for shoving that pad down further behind me while you are at it." Sometimes it means having to lie down and make an adjustment that way. Sometimes I think I'll drive me and my friends crazy!
That's when I need to remember First Peter 2:21 where I'm told, “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.” Pain and hardship? Well, you know what? To this I have been called. And you have, too. The Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief is our precious example. Life, friend, is supposed to be difficult. Jesus said in this world we would have trouble. Philippians chapter 2 reinforces that it's been granted - that is, it has been gifted - on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but to suffer for him. Sometimes I don't want that gift, but I remember that discomfort is God's way of keeping me close to him. If Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered, then I can learn from doing 26 different adjustments in the way I sit in this wheelchair every day.
God wants to pour out His joy on us – Jesus was driven to share His joy with us; He even said in John 15, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” Friend, it’s why He came. He’s heaven-bent on giving us His joy. But He only shares His joy on His terms. And those terms require for us to in some way suffer as He did when He walked on earth. So you may not be in a wheelchair like me, but the next time you get hit broadside with a bruising disappointment, please remember the example of Jesus Christ. God is asking you to follow in His steps.
And to give you help in doing that, I want to give you this really wonderful little booklet called “Bible Promises for Hope and Courage” – it’s a beautiful 12-page laminated foldout that you can tuck in your Bible and keep for ready reference. And it’s yours for the asking just by dropping by my radio page at joniandfriends.org. Again, that’s joniandfriends.org and just ask for “Bible Promises for Hope and Courage.”
So in the meantime, I encourage you (the way I have to encourage my own soul every day) to unwrap that painful gift and learn obedience (learn to trust, learn to lean, rely on, prefer and choose) the grace of God to help you through the things you suffer. May God help you see that life is supposed to be difficult (don’t mean to sound like a killjoy here)… because actually, it’s through our difficulties that joy from heaven floods our hearts as we trust in Him. Most of all, I pray that you’ll see Jesus is worth it. He’s ecstasy beyond compare and it is worth anything to be His friend. That’s something I'm committed to remember the next time I ask a friend at the office to give me an adjustment one more time in this old wheelchair of mine!
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends