Even in great pain, you can still experience the unshakable joy of Jesus through His fellowship of suffering and the love displayed on the cross.
Click here to receive today's free gift on the Radio Page:
Who I Am in Christ – This folded pamphlet outlines truths about your identity as a follower of Christ. This is an encouraging booklet with many Scripture references for further reflections. Be reminded and reassured of the many qualities and characteristics you possess as a believer! Use the coupon code: RADIOGIFT for free shipping!
*Limit one copy per person*
SHAUNA: I’m Shauna, with Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Thank you for joining us.
JONI: Some time ago, an out-of-town visitor came with his family to Joni and Friends – and when I learned that his daughter, Tracy, was struggling with chronic pain, I invited the family to my office and we enjoyed a good, long talk together and a tour of my art studio. Somewhere during the visit, Tracy [oh, she looked to be about 18 years old] – she asked about my pain levels. And I was quite frank with her and answered that, even right then, I was in great pain. Then she said, “But I don’t understand. I don’t get how you can be in great pain, yet you seem full of joy.” I was quiet for a moment, smiling softly at this precious girl; and I thought, oh, dear Tracy, it would require earnest faith on your part to believe me, but let me give it a try.
And this is what I told her. I said, “Tracy, we all want to know Jesus, right? We want to know who He is. We want to know His heart, His mercy, His love. And although we can learn these lessons about Jesus in the Gospel [raising Jairus’ daughter and how His heart was moved by the woman caught in adultery; His mercy to Peter after the big betrayal] – I mean, all this helps us know Christ. But if we want to know Him intimately and sweetly, you’ve got to start with Philippians 3: “I want to know Christ, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” And that death occurred on the cross. Right then, He fully and gloriously displayed His love, like nowhere else in the Gospels. So, if we want to know His heart – on the cross His heart bled for sinners. And if we want to know His mercy, then look at the cross. It is there we see the high point of His mercy. On the cross, Jesus displayed Himself like nowhere else in the Bible.
And so, if we want to know Jesus and possess His life-sustaining joy, it’ll mean sharing in His sufferings. No one is naturally inclined to want that, but chronic pain and a lifetime of disability push us down that hard road to the cross. And there we sit, gazing at His beauty, His mercy, His incomprehensible love. Oh, and I experience that wonderful, terrible blend of joy and sorrow described in 2 Corinthians 6. Even now, in my most happy moments, there is always a tinge of pain and sorrow that whispers, “Joni, be grateful; this delightful moment was blood-bought for you by your Savior.” So, I would never wish that hard but precious joy away.
It’s an affirmation of my union with Christ, a kind of litmus test. And it tells me that the joy that I’m experiencing isn’t frivolous; it’s profound evidence that I have come to know Christ – that I’m experiencing the joy that sustained Him in his agony. I said to Tracy: “Sweetheart, I hardly ever experience physical comfort; but I do experience the unshakable joy of my Jesus within His fellowship of suffering. It’s a privilege to receive just a tiny measure of the robust joy that carried our Lord through His cross and into the presence of our Father. The secret to unshakable joy? Oh, Tracy, embrace the truth that God shares His joy on His terms, and those terms call for you and me to suffer, in some measure, as did His dear Son. And believe me, it's worth it. That precious 18-year-old embraced what I shared. So, friend, if you know someone who is suffering through a hard trial, share this program on social media. Just go to joniradio.org if you want to text it or email today’s program to a hurting friend.
© Joni and Friends