Joni Eareckson Tada Answers Your Questions

president of Johnny and Friends coming to you live from the Johnny and Friends International disability Center today we're here with Johnny Erickson tada and we'd like to welcome you to Bible gateways facebook live event we've gathered some questions that you've sent in asking Johnny how to find hope in suffering and today we'll takes on some of those tough questions with one of the most hopeful people I've ever had the privilege of knowing a person who has leaned on the hope of Christ through 49 years in a wheelchair my friend Johnny Erickson tada gonna be with you absolutely I'm glad you're here and and we're so glad that you have joined us as well Doug I'm so glad you think I'm a hopeful person but I mentioned you mentioned tough question yes I'm a little nervous well they're tough questions in fact I'm going to show you how tough they are let's let's get started with some of that we're send from Katherine on Twitter Johnny how do you how do you handle the daily pain of discouragement when it comes to motivating yourself to get up that bingo you touched on where I live I mean every morning I have got to motivate myself to get up it's why I often remember this line from a movie you got to get busy living or get busy dying and friend watching I just I just don't want to get busy dying I want to live and so when I wake up in the morning yes it's hard I deal with quadriplegia my girlfriend's have to give me a bed bath do my Twyla ting routines strap on my corset pull up my pants put on my support hose push me into the wheelchair get me to the bathroom brush my teeth blow my nose brush my I am tired before the morning has hardly even begun and I get so discouraged with the two-hour routine of just getting up in the morning and often no I take that back always I say to the Lord Jesus God I cannot do this I'm so tired of being a quadriplegic I have no smile for these friends were going to help me get up this morning but you do I cannot do quadriplegia today but I can do all things to you as you strengthen me please may I borrow your smile for these wonderful people who are going to give me a bed bath get me dressed and set me up in a wheelchair today honestly could Catherine I wake up in the morning needing Jesus desperately but you know what that's a great way to wake up in the morning that's a wonderful way to wake up in the morning needing Jesus desperately so I guess Catherine and I and others watching can be very much like the Apostle Paul boast in your affliction delight in the limitation glory in the hardship because then you know you're going to be driven into the arms of Jesus Christ each and every morning when it's hard to get up well done Miriam on Facebook asks how can I process tragedies in life with a healthy view of God and without blaming him how did believers do it in the Bible Wow wow that's a real good one well Miriam I think it's so important to focus on God's character because he's the one who wrote the book on suffering I look at Jesus when they hang you on a cross like meat on a hook you've got the last word on suffering and the God of the Bible is not some far-off meditating mystic of a guru of a God who sits on some mountaintop contemplating his navel and truly his thumbs no he's not an arm's length distance from people in pain no the God of the Bible wanted to make certain that we understood he knows our pain he participates in it so what'd he do he sends his own son Jesus Christ Jesus who was the man of sorrows acquainted with grief impaled on that cross agonizingly dying for us in our stead that's the kind of God we can trust because he knows he understands suffering and God is so wise and good again focus on his character Jeremiah chapter 32 verse 41 says and this is what God says I will get this rejoice in doing my people good now listen to this with all my heart and soul I mean that great God rejoices in doing good for his people with all his heart and soul just need to remember that God's idea of good is to make us more like Jesus it's not always to make our lives comfortable or healthy or free of trouble but is to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ you know um when I was first injured and I read Psalm 84 Doug it says there no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly and I thought to myself and I read that Bible verse well a good thing is walking I mean really that would be a good thing walking right but God's idea of a good thing is to conform you to the image of Jesus that I'd be more patient that I bear up under affliction well that my faith be refined that I gain a hatred for my own selfishness there's a poem that goes when God wants to drill a man and skill a man and thrill a man when God wants to create so great and bold a man that all the world shall be amazed watch his methods watch his ways because he will ruthlessly perfect those whom he royally elects and our comfort and suffering is this God knows how to handle the hammer and the chisel he knows how to do it and he rejoices in doing good to his people making us more like Jesus let's just remember that when we start to feel discouraged about the character of God that's a picture of a great guide you just described absolutely no let's see what Pat has asked Christina I'm sorry Christina H on Facebook after a number of medical issues and surgeries over the past three years and being unable to work she's tired she asked is there any reason why God would allow so much pain and suffering to happen to just one person that's a question we hear a lot well I and have experienced that I I have experienced it as well I wonder the same thing Katrina and you know the truth sometimes answers as good and right and true as they are sometimes they just don't they just don't hit the problem where it hurts and that's in the gut and in the heart sometimes the 16 good biblical reasons as to why God has happened has allowed this to happen to you sometimes those 16 good biblical reasons although they are good and right and true they can sting like salt in a wound when we're hurting Katrina I don't think we're looking for answers so much as we are looking for God to be our Alba father-daddy think of this Katrina you're on a bicycle you're racing down a hill you turn a corner your front tire skids out on the gravel you crash to the asphalt your knee is bloody and you're crying asking why and your daddy is running up to you and how cruel it would be for your own daddy to stand over you with arms folded and say well Katrina you should have watched the trajectory of your turn you should have been observant that there was going to be a lot of gravel you should watch the speed of your bike going downhill those are answers but they don't reach the problem of where it hurts you just want your daddy to reach down and pick you up and press you against his breast and petulant aback and say there there sweetheart daddy's here it's going to be okay and I think that's what we want from our Heavenly Father we wanted to be the good Alba father daddy who will say everything's going to be okay Doug the other day I was coming to work this was Monday what's today Friday Monday Monday I was coming to work and I was in such pain and Ken was driving I was in the back of the van and I know these answers of which I've just spoken but sometimes it's just so overwhelming and I happen to remember and recall while I was in the man some 119 verse 50 where it says my comfort and my suffering is this your promises renew my life so for the rest of the distance down the 101 freeway I just recounted God's promises out loud in a van I talked about Jeremiah 29 verse 11 to Ken Tata that God has a hopeful future for us and I rehearsed promises that he to strengthen us that His grace is sufficient that he will uphold us and guide us these are the kind of promises I rehearsed and when I got to the office my hurting my pain didn't necessarily go away but man I had courage I had so much more power and energy to face the day and so Katrina you could look for reasons you could look for answers and you would find them in a refined faith and increased compassion for those who hurt and you would find them in the fact that you're suffering stretches your hope and purchased sin out of your life but you know what the best answer is to just let your heavenly father be your Abba Father daddy let me pick you up press you against his breast and say there there Katrina there there it's okay I am here I am with you I understand and I will see you through all right that's great sounds like through the power of the Holy Spirit you have choices that you can make every day absolutely report your pain you know that's the whole Christian life yes and probably a lot of people are surprised to hear quadriplegic talk about pain that you have every day but I'm with you every day and I I see you in extraordinary pain and still have that same you probably have it right now with that nice beautiful smiley face and but I know you I know you do yes I do but that's okay carry on okay muster on all right I think we left off with Pat and we're back to Pat on Facebook my mother-in-law passed away this past week and while the family was gathered we heard the phrase ministry of suffering Oh I had never heard that what do you think about this well I think that suffering can have a ministry in your own life for all those reasons I just mentioned to Katrina you know suffering produces a refined faith that stretches our hope it helps us be compassionate to other people but it's also that we might in turn pass on the ministry to other people who are hurting that's where the ministry comes in because you and I are not the only ones who are overwhelmed by affliction Douga want you to show our viewers this photograph but I have hanging on my office wall I come into work every day wheel into my office and by the way you're in my office and I look at this I look at this photograph you want to describe who this is Doug this is a gentleman that I had the privilege of meeting in rural Africa in Ghana West Africa and we came to his village because everyone that we serve is not able to come to us and he was an extraordinary pain and we asked him I asked him if I could take his picture and he was a man of dignity although he had nothing the roof in his house had collapsed as you may be able to see and he was sitting there in extreme pain with the only shirt that he had on was torn and holy and I said may I take your photo and he said wait a minute and what he did was if I can back up just a moment he he took his shirt and he straightened it and he brushed it and he said okay now now I'm ready well it just showed the dignity and the sovereignty of God and the importance of every life and of course every extra shirt I had with me I gave him before I left good for you I would've expected you should do that that's having a ministry in the lives of others who suffer and and friend I'm glad Doug shared that story with you because I want you to understand why it's on my office wall I will into this office I get under my desk and I look at that picture and to me that man represents the world's 1 billion people with disabilities 80% of whom live in a developing nation like he does and live in a desperate plight like he does and my ministry and my suffering is to pass on the blessing to him and thousands others around the world whose affliction is great it's a hurting world and God calls us to suffer so that we might in turn minister to others who suffer and when we do it's helpful to remember that as we do we are the cans of Christ but remember they are scarred hands they are wounded hands you are the wounded hands of Christ as you bear up under your own suffering to minister to others are afflicted that's a great purpose for living amen thank you for that Johnny we're to Wendy on Facebook unseen ailments disability physical disabilities limit people how do you explain to others you simply can't do what you used to do on a regular basis how do you how do people go about being normal when they don't feel accepted well you know a physical disability will humble you but an invisible disability will really humble you I mean for instance through our Wounded Warrior getaways here at Johnny and Friends we administer to many wounded American servicemen and women who suffer from PTSD post-traumatic stress syndrome and it's so hard for somebody with PTSD to say to his family and friends look I'm not the same person that I was I don't function like I used to I'm a little unstable socially and my behavior can be a little erratic so so would you please help me to know when I'm off-base or being too loud I need your support it's humbling to say that but sometimes to that humiliation the virtue of humility has a chance to blossom in our lives and so don't be ashamed of the hidden disability no you're not going to be normal as you once were but what's normal anyway it's all kind of relative God just expects you to find your validation and him not from other people around you unseen disabilities can be lonely but that loneliness can drive you to the Lord Jesus second Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9 is a verse I often quote the Apostle Paul was going through much hardship much affliction and he said to his friends my brothers I don't want you to be uninformed about the hardships we endured in Asia we were suffering so much that we were we were overwhelmed we even had in our hearts the sting of death in other words Paul was saying oh man things were so awful at times I was thinking I'd rather die than face this but then he says and second Corinthians chapter 1 verse 9 but these things happen that we might not rely on ourselves but on God who raises the dead so invisible disabilities or physical disabilities are used of the Lord that we might not rely on ourselves but on God and if he can if God can raise the dead then he can raise your spirits hmm Rachel on Instagram Johnny how do you make the resolve to have hope when you just don't feel it at all is hope connected to a feeling mmm that's a good question when I think of Hope I like to think of it as the rock-solid assurance that in the end everything is going to be okay but everything being okay is not based on your life getting better or your pain going away or things improving no Christian hope is based on the Blessed hope Jesus Christ that's how he's referred to in Titus chapter 2 verse 13 he's referred to there as the Blessed hope and in the end Jesus is the only one who will one day close the curtain on sin and suffering and Satan and on that day something so wonderful is going to happen at his Day Newmont that is going to suffice for every single one of our pains every single one of our tears it would phone for every single one of our disappointments that's why my life is filled with hope I one day going to be jumping out of this wheelchair dancing and kicking and doing aerobics my paralysis will be a thing of the past so how do you get hope like that well Romans chapter 15 verse 13 says may the god of Hope fill you with all joy and peace not just some joy and peace all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you might overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit as we trust in Jesus we will overflow not only with hope but a lot of joy oh that is hopeful thank you from Sean on Facebook how can people with disabilities deal with rejection you know rejection is one of those things that will really really really identify you with your Savior because nobody nobody experienced more rejection than Jesus all his close friends most of his family members they all turned their back on Jesus at his point of greatest need even his own father in heaven Jesus was the boss God forsaken man who ever lived talk about rejection when he was on the cross my god why have you forsaken me why have you abandoned me but Jesus endured all that so that he might turn to you and say Sean I'm never going to leave you I'm never going to forsake you I'm never going to abandon you you know one of God's primary purposes in suffering is to cause us to identify I mean really identify with His Son Jesus Christ and if you feel rejection well welcome to the human race and also welcome to the Fellowship of sharing in Christ's afflictions and it's why Matthew chapter 5 says blessed are you when people insult you persecute you say all manner of evil against you why is it that you're blessed because you are identified with Jesus but that's there's the source of the joy there's a source of the peace in the hope to be identified with him even in rejection that's wonderful positive we really appreciate it okay here I think right well you're doing great my job is easy I'm just hearing all this wisdom I'm loving getting these questions well here let's hear one from Sarah on Facebook I suffer from chronic pain and a long list of other things I'm never really sure how to relate to my pain I'm thankful that is there serving a purpose and that God has decided it's necessary but the whole pain thing really hurts am I really thankful for it if I don't want the pain to be there this one you can really relate to boy do I relate to that Sarah the whole pain thing really hurts I'm so with you on this my emotions if I let them oh my goodness they're going to drag me down every single morning they're going to just get me so discouraged even to the point of despairing and and that's why I have to do what David the psalmist did I talk to my soul I do psalm 42 verse 11 david says to his soul he says why are you down cast on my soul hmm why are you so disquieted within me put your hope in God your Savior put your hope there and and and that's what I do dog I talk my soul into coming into alignment with the Holy Spirit getting getting an alignment with him I call my spirit to attention and I say soul I'm just not gonna listen to those emotions I'm gonna whip you into shape I think this is what Paul must have meant when he said how he beats his body into submission you know um last night Doug I was watching The History Channel and they had the final episode of a lone mm did you see it no oh no you missed it I did it was good but at the very beginning of the episode they flashed on the television screen this quote by William Barclay it was so powerful I memorized it real quickly it was perseverance is not the ability to endure a hard thing perseverance is finding glory in that hard thing hmm I love that I love that it's also why I love second Corinthians chapter 4 verses 7 to 12 I I repeat it to me often I repeated to my soul often where it says though we were handicapped on all sides were not crushed they were perplexed we're not in despair though we're persecuted we're not abandoned that were knocked down were not knocked out every day we are supposed to experience something of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ so that in turn we might experience the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours that's how I talk to my soul it needs a good talking-to everyday and that's what I tell it more choices as to how we respond isn't it yeah more choices absolutely rather strength of God Amen from Jane on Twitter Oh what do you mean when you say after years of suffering you believe God allows one form of evil to expose another form of evil hmm that's a really good question it's kind of a theological question because I'm convinced that God will use one form of evil that is our suffering to expose another form of evil and that is our sin mmm Jane I experience it every day with my chronic pain my chronic pain is the lemon that God squeezes in my life revealing all sorts of rotten stuff I mean suffering is the textbook that will teach you who you really are it'll expose the things of which you are really made and I am blown away how peevish my attitude can be at times how sour my disposition can be how quickly I am to be anxious or fearful of the future I would not realise that about myself I would think that I'm a paragon of virtue did not pain squeeze me like a lemon revealing the sin and the selfishness that I need to constantly bring before the Lord we've got to remember that the core of God's plan is to rescue us from sin not just long ago when we first believed when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior we need rescuing every day absolutely every day and so what will God do he'll bring hardships he'll squeeze that lemon in our life exposing the but not so pretty things that we need to confess repent of turn from and grab ahold of that joy and peace and I was talking about earlier well it must work because in 18 years I've never seen you peevish oh come on not once yes you have I was thinking of it as you were talking I I thought I have to get up earlier and go where you are now you just need to talk to my husband that's all oh yeah he's got lots of grace I don't know you as peevish but anyway well we'll accept that from Jason on Twitter I am disabled and I struggle with depression Jonny how do you keep from getting depressed mmm well I struggled with it to like Sarah and her question earlier my pain can at times be overwhelming but I'm when I'm depressed and when I'm hurting I think the first thing I do is look for somebody else who's hurting more hmm I've got a list of phone numbers by my telephone over there by the desk and there are other quadriplegics who are bedridden and whenever um I start to feel overwhelmed that it can't go on that the pain is too hard or that you know my soul just will not come into alignment even though it does get a good talking-to the next thing I do Doug is get on that phone and all those numbers and talk to those quadriplegic sinbadniz I sing a hymn to them I'll pray with them I'll ask what their needs are how can I help how can I serve you know the the most important thing when we are hurting is to is to share the comfort that we have gleaned with others it really helps depression so my advice to people if you're depressed get up take a shower get dressed walk out the front door and go serve somebody in your community somebody was hurting worse than you are one other quick note I must add that one of the best books I've ever read on depression was by dr. Martin lloyd-jones called spiritual depression maybe you want to google it later later on and find out more about that important book it's really great but get out there and serve mmm pressure will be alleviated yes good advice easy help in our STM's don't wait who will come from homes that have lots going on and they come and serve at our Johnny and Friends event we have one last question are from Sheree on Facebook how do you maintain hope and faith in a loving caring God when he doesn't seem to be doing anything at all in the of those for whom you have been praying for years in fact when things seem to be getting worse day by day well God answers prayer he does sometimes it is yes sometimes it is no and often it is weight it is weight but please um sherry remember when it is know when God says no remember that he is still loving he is still caring sure our natural bent is to ask God to fix things change things heal things remove things but God is interested in a deeper kind of healing and one of the quick thought sometimes we want the kind of answers to Paul's prayers without the discipline of his life John chapter 15 says Jesus says if you remain in me and I remain in you my words remain in you you may ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you well that's no carte blanche promise it's a conditional promise if we want powerful answers to prayers we have to have powerful prayers and prayers that really reflect a life that is heaven bent on staying abiding with Jesus um I know we're getting near our 30-minute time limit on with our friends here on the Facebook live event should we should we move on to thee yes well following two years of working together Tyndale publishers in partnership with Johnny and friends will be releasing the beyond suffering Bible this fall the first of its kind this Study Bible has been created for people who want to understand the why in suffering many of the questions we talked about today it includes insights from Johnny and other experts from our Christian Institute on disability to help readers take hold of the eternal value that God is building in our lives even through suffering Johnny tell us why you think the Bible is so important for us and what its advantages well the beyond suffering Bible specifically is very much needed because suffering prompts such heart-wrenching questions questions like if God is good then why does they allow so much pain in the world why is there so much evil in the world and if God is truly sovereign then who sets the world's agenda is it God or is it the devil how do I cancel counsel people who are depressed what are the right choices when it comes to tough ethical issues like like like assisted suicide where does one go to find true peace of heart and mind and purpose for living well the answer is the Word of God the problem is so many of us especially when we are hurting just don't know where to look or where to go I remember what I was first injured I flip through the pages of the Bible desperately looking for answers for hope for help but God brought beside me a wise Christian friend who counseled being through the Word of God had helped me find solid answers to my questions and the beyond suffering Bible is that quote wise Christian friend to come alongside you and be a resource that you can go to when you have tough questions the beyond suffering Bible is filled with commentaries with sidebars with study notes with profiles of courage it's great it's great for anyone who like me was struggling with suffering so much in her life and wondering where do I turn to in the Word of God it's the kind of Bible that will help that person what are the features that you're specifically talking about that I can look for in the Bible well there's one great feature and it's profiles of courage I think they're called no no they're called faith and action biblical and contemporary profiles that's the phraseology and these are profiles that that describe the testimonies and other Christians who have overcome suffering quadriplegia chronic pain moms and dads of special-needs children all throughout the beyond suffering Bible readers will really enjoy learning about the testimonies of these incredible people and it helps to know that another person has gone through what you have gone through and come out the other side surviving so look for all those kinds of features especially the faith and action profiles they're great is there a specific way that this Bible will put an emphasis on answering my question about the why of suffering which is the big what really is the big yeah yeah yeah yeah the the big question well most people wish that they could raise suffering out of this dictionary most people want to divorce it drug it escape it surgically exercise it and institutionalize it do anything to live with it and yet God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he loves friend I can't think of a better answer to the ancient question of suffering than that God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he loves he did that at the cross God permitted the cross to happen he hated it though because it involved the torture of his own precious son it involved murder it involved treason and injustice how can any of that stuff be God's will and yet we're told in the Bible in Acts chapter 4 verse 28 these men that is Pontius Pilate and the drunken mob who screamed for his crucifixion and and the Roman soldiers who tortured Jesus these men did what God's power and will had decided beforehand should happen in other words Satan may have thought he was doing a good thing by crucifying the Son of God but in instigating the world's worst murder he slit his own throat because the world's worst murder became the world's only salvation and it's true in our lives individually God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he loves God takes no delight in Alzheimer's he takes no delight in autism spinal cord injury osteogenesis imperfecta and all the rest he hates these things but he is after something far more precious patience endurance compassion refined faith so of all the takeaways that our friends watching might take away today takeaway that God permits what he hates to accomplish that which he loves and they'll find that special insight and more about it in the beyond suffering Bible fantastic well Johnny thank you I want to join everyone out there and thanking you even though we've been together for so long I love to listen to you and your insights into really into hope and in suffering and how they go together thank you for that and I want to thank our friends for all of you time to watch today our friends watching can learn more about the beyond suffering Bible right now by visiting beyond suffering Bible calm where you can get a free download of The Book of Luke I think that's very cool and there's also a buy one get one free pre-order offer that's also pretty cool and later on today I'll be putting a video about the beyond suffering Bible on my Facebook page where you can learn more about what the special features are of this special Bible and if you have other questions regarding suffering and hope you can always write us here at Johnny and friends organ let me know what you thought of today's interview and finally many many thanks to our good friends at Bible gateway for hosting us on this Facebook page of theirs it's been fantastic so I will see you later on today on my Facebook page thanks for watching I'm watching we enjoy bless you bye god bless

Channel: New Living Translation

Views: 51,076

Keywords: NLT, Bible

Id: Fjtpe6-oGvE

Length: 34min 1sec (2041 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 26 2016