Hoping in the Promises of God's Word with Joni Eareckson Tada
Today we have the privilege of chatting with Joni Eareckson Tada! Joni is the founder and CEO of Joni and Friends, an organization that provides Christian outreach in the disability community. She is the author of numerous books, including two, brand new books: The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party and Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls.
This conversation is rich with encouragement to lift our eyes to Jesus and cling to his Word in the midst of our current trials and afflictions. We pray this conversation with Joni spurs you to seek to know and love God and his Word and to long for eternity.
This is the last episode in our Knowing and Loving the Bible series. We’re so grateful to all of you who listened and we cannot wait to be back in your earbuds in July of 2022!
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
What role has regularly reading, seeing, saying, and singing Scripture played in your life?
How has God’s Word met you in the midst of your suffering?
What invitation does God’s Word tell us we have received from Jesus?
How does the Bible point us to what we have to look forward to in eternity?
How do you keep eternity in view as you navigate the various challenges you face every day?
Can you share how scriptural songs have given you hope in the midst of your pain?
What examples do we have in Scripture of people signing during times of suffering?
How have you clung to God and his Word as you anxiously await the eternal party we will share in the new heavens and the new earth?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“[In my chronic pain and suffering] I chase away anxiety by reciting in my head as prayers stanzas to remarkable hymns… I recite to God stanzas of hymns that are filled with good doctrine, hope, and encouragement from his Word.”
“Singing the Word of God can transform your heart.”
“I thrive on Bible promises. They are my meat and drink.
“The way of escape God provides are his promises. Each of them is a ‘yes’ and ‘amen’ in Christ. So when we rehearse the Bible promises to ourselves, when we speak them out loud, when we repeat them, we are drawing close to Christ, because all of those Bible promises find their fulfillment in our Savior.”
“When I am distressed, when pain seems overwhelming, when I feel I cannot go on, I hold fast to Bible promises. They keep my mind from wandering down dark, depressing paths.”
“Though we are hard pressed on all sides…we are not crushed. In the middle of the night when I’m in searing pain, I will speak to it, I will breathe deeply, I will relax into it, and I will say it to it, ‘Pain, you might be pressing me in hard on all sides, but you will not crush me because I trust my Savior and Jesus is on my side. God is for me, never against me. And this pain may harm my body, but it cannot, it will not harm my soul. 2 Corinthians 4:8 assures me of that.”
“When your minds and your emotions go dark, you’ve got to talk to your soul like King David did, and you’ve got to jerk things back right side through Bible promises.”
“The Bible is always encouraging us to look at the end results: the harvest that will be gleaned, the house that will be built, the watchman on the tower waiting for morning. Always and always the Bible is pointing us forward. We press on, as the apostle Paul says, always striving towards that high calling of knowing Jesus better. Our sanctification is all about working us toward our glorification in heaven.”
“God gives us this kind of restlessness down here on earth through suffering and affliction. He’s pushing and prodding us in the right direction, that our hearts might be focused on heaven because that’s where our hope lies. Our hope lies in heaven.”
“One day we’re going to be a part of Christ’s rich, glorious inheritance. We get to bring great joy to the Lord Jesus, we’re going to worship and serve him forever in eternity. And everything—everything—we do down here on earth, every thought, every action, every decision, every little drastic obedience, everything has a direct bearing on our capacity for joy and service and worship in heaven.”
“We must not waste our days. Let’s not waste them, let’s invest them in eternal glories above.”
“I simply want to love God more down here on earth, because I want my capacity for joy and worship and service in heaven to overflow. I don’t want it to be a thimble full, I want it to be a tanker truck full of capacity for serving and worshiping Jesus for all of eternity.”
[On growing a love for God’s Word in a season of suffering or dryness] “Ask the Holy Spirit to come alongside you, to be your friend, to lift your heart, boost your spirits, open up your capacity and desire to read. And then just start reading…”
“You have to ask the Holy Spirit to assist you, and then you’ve got to start reading. As you read, ask the Lord Jesus, “Quicken my heart, open my eyes, help me know the hope to which you’ve called me, let me understand the inheritance of your glorious riches, help me to understand the incomparably great power which is ours”... just pray as you read. And believe me, your suffering, your affliction, your dryness, your season of grief is your asset. It is indeed your best friend, because God resists the proud; he resists people who have it all together. His heart is towards the needy, the weak, the infirm, the confused, the downcast, the brokenhearted. He is near to those who are crushed in spirit. Your season of dryness and affliction is your best friend. It’s going to be that sheepdog that nips at your heels and drives you to the Savior where you otherwise might not be inclined to go.”
“See your suffering as an asset that might drive you to Jesus, where otherwise you might not go.”
“Suffering breaks you and it breaks your composure. It leads you to say ‘Jesus I need you, come help me.’”
“Don’t be discouraged by your season of dryness or affliction or grief. Let it be that which drives you into the heart of your Savior.”
RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party by Joni Eareckson Tada
Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls by Joni Eareckson Tada
Read it, See it, Say it, Sing it! By Hunter Beless
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
JONI’S FAVORITE HYMNS
Standing on the Promises of God
A Mighty Fortress is our God
Oh Love That Will Not Let Me Go
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
What role has reading, seeing, saying, and singing Scripture played in your life? How might you continue to do that more regularly?
How has God’s Word met you in the midst of your suffering?
How does the Bible point us to what we have to look forward to in eternity? How might you keep this perspective in mind?
What scriptural songs give you hope in the midst of difficulty? Perhaps play one now and spend some time in worship.
What might you do or implement based on what you learned in this week’s episode?
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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