Wednesday, October 26, 2011
This weekend I will be preaching on
the subject, “Why does God allow suffering?”
In my studies I came across some great quotes from Joni Eareckson Tada.
In 1967, Joni dove into the
Chesapeake Bay not knowing how shallow the water was. She broke her neck—a
fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels—and became a quadriplegic. Through all her suffering she chose to trust
God and watched as He turned a tragedy into a triumph. Joni taught herself to paint using her teeth.
She has authored forty books. She has recorded several albums. She is the
founder and president of Joni and Friends, which has blessed thousands of
families. She is a survivor of breast
cancer. Joni has an infectious faith in Jesus and has a wonderful perspective
on living life in a wheel chair. Here
are some of her words about suffering.
- If you had never known physical pain in your life, how
could you appreciate the nail scarred hands with which Jesus Christ will
meet you?
- In a way I wish I could take to heaven my old, tattered Everest & Jennings wheelchair. I would point to the empty seat and say, "Lord, for decades I was paralyzed in this chair. But it showed me how paralyzed You must have felt to be nailed to Your Cross. My limitations taught me something about the limitations You endured when You laid aside your robes of state and put on the indignity of human flesh." At that point, with my strong and glorified body, I might sit in it, rub the armrests with my hands, look up at Jesus, and add, "the weaker I felt in this chair, the harder I leaned on You. And the harder I leaned, the more I discovered how strong You are. Thank you, Jesus for learning obedience in your suffering...You gave me grace to learn obedience in mine."
- "How easily we equate our purpose/meaning/usefulness with things we physically do, and how little emphasis we place on things of the spirit and acts of encouragement which require little or nothing of us physically." (in Joni's book, When God Weeps)
- "God is more concerned with conforming me to the likeness of His Son than leaving me in my comfort zones. God is more interested in inward qualities than outward circumstances - things like refining my faith, humbling my heart, cleaning up my thought life and strengthening my character."
- "The greatest good suffering can do for me is to increase my capacity for God."
Paul said, “And we rejoice in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance,
character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).
Pastor Tim
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