A Moment with Joni Eareckson Tada

Suffering Does That

Episode Summary

True life in Christ means fully depending on him. Let suffering deepen your faith today.

Episode Transcription

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. And when I first came to Christ, I underlined Philippians 1:21 in my high school Bible: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” And I meant it [at least, as much as I was able to mean it]: like, I’ll stand up for you, Jesus, if someone sneers at my Christianity; I’ll stick to moral standards when it comes to my boyfriend – yeah, how long did thatlast, right? But then I broke my neck, which in turn made me realize that Paul’s words in Philippians meant more than I thought. Paul ate, drank, and slept eternal life in Christ. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, and the life of his life. I couldn’t have said that before I suffered. But my quadriplegia utterly threw me against the arms of my Savior where, previous to my accident, I only occasioned. Suffering does that. So today, don’t fault it – it can help you say, “For to me, to live is Christ.”

 

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