Welcome your trials as friends.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. If I’m remembered for anything I have ever said or written, I hope it will be these words: “God permits what He hates, to accomplish that which He loves.” I can’t think of a better answer to the ancient question of suffering. Even at the cross, God permitted what He hated – the agonizing death of His own precious Son – in order to accomplish something He prized above that: salvation for a world of sinners. So, the world’s worst murder becomes the world’s only salvation. In the same way, God hates spinal cord injury, mental illness, autism, all the rest. Yet He permits them to accomplish something far more precious in our lives – patience, endurance, compassion, refined faith and a deeper trust in God. So today, remember James 1, and “Welcome your trials as friends.” God permits them to accomplish what He loves: And that’s Christ in you, the hope of glory.
© Joni and Friends