Your suffering gives you the chance to identify with Jesus, to be like him and to know him.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and I had to laugh when I opened a letter from a nine-year-old – her name was Shannon, and she wrote, “Dear Joni, when I grow up, I want to have a wheelchair just like yours.” Oh, that’s so funny, ’cause Shannon’s not even disabled! She hasn’t a clue about the pain and hardships of paralysis. But to her, having a wheelchair is a chance to identify with me, to be like me, to know me. Shannon resembles the apostle Paul, who says, “I want to know Christ… and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” Oh, friend, like Shannon and like the apostle Paul, our sufferings give us the chance to identify with Jesus – to be like him and to know him. So, let this little girl lead the way today. Enter the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and get to know him better. Believe me, he’s ecstasy beyond compare and he’s worth it all.
© Joni and Friends