Boast gladly about your weaknesses so that the power of Christ might rest on you. For the sake of Christ, be content with weaknesses and hardships; for when you are weak, then you are strong.
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SHAUNA: Hi, I’m Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Did you know that there’s a purpose for your suffering? Well, listen in as Joni explains.
JONI: And not just “a” purpose, but “the” purpose for your suffering. Is that possible? Does God have one main purpose in mind for all your pain and heartache, all your disappointments and physical hardships? Well, I believe he does. And that purpose has satisfied my heart through years of chronic pain, quadriplegia, and even cancer. John Piper sums up that purpose best when he says this.
He says, “This is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less reliance on self and the world. I have never heard anyone say, ‘The really deep lessons of life have come through times of ease and comfort.’ But I have heard strong saints say, ‘Every significant advance I have ever made in grasping the depth of God’s love and growing deep with him has come through suffering.’” Don’t you lovethat? Because it’s so true! Over the years, I’ve drawn so close to Christ and learned so many rich insights from his Word, and not once, never, did I learn those lessons or even draw close to the Lord during times of ease and comfort. No, every advance I have ever made in growing deeper in my walk with Jesus has happened from this wheelchair; or from a chemo clinic; or from my bed when I’ve been in pain and was dealing with pressure sores.
Now, does this mean that you have to experience paralysis or chronic pain or cancer in order to grasp the depths of Christ’s love for you? Of course not! Because suffering comes at us in all shapes and sizes; it touches our lives in varying degrees; all at one time or another, we all wrestle with disappointment and hardship. The challenge for us is: are we going to waste it? Are we going to squander that suffering and refuse to learn from it? When suffering comes, do we do everything to avoid it, medicate it, ignore it or escape from it? Or do we let that suffering push us down the blood-stained path to Calvary where we find help and hope?
If we hold fast to God in the midst of trials, when all around our soul gives way, then we show that the Lord is more to be desired than all we have lost. When we welcome suffering as a companion—oh, yes, a strange, difficult and even dark companion, but a companion nonetheless—is our faith strengthened by it? The testing of my faith and yours is more precious than gold, the Bible says. Knowing Jesus in the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings is ecstasy beyond compare. Why in the world would we ever waste a suffering? Why would we squander that hardship and refuse to learn from it? Why would we ever try to avoid or escape it? God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering is that we enjoy more contentment in him and less reliance on ourselves and the world. And that purpose unfolds during times of suffering, no matter what the degree.
So, friend, let’s boast all the more gladly of our weaknesses so that the power of Christ might rest on us. For the sake of Christ, let’s be content with weaknesses and hardships; for when we are weak, then we are strong.
SHAUNA: And if you’re looking for more encouragement like this, visit us at joniradio.org. You’ll find this program and so much more. And while you’re there, be sure to leave us your prayer request. We want to pray for you! And finally, thank you for not wasting your hardships—let’s not dare do that. For they pave the way to Calvary where God’s every purpose [especially the big purpose] is revealed.
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