Accepting Both The Bad And The Good
It is so hard to accept – I mean really accept – difficult things from the Lord.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and there are many things that I like about Job, but perhaps the best thing is that he accepted both good and bad from the hand of God. After losing his family, property, his health, his respect in the community, even respect from his wife, Job makes this astounding statement in chapter 2, verse 10. He says, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” When you come right down to it, that is a hard, but very humble thing to say. And when I broke my neck decades ago, it took me such a long time before I could agree with Job and accept not only good from God, but also the trouble that paralysis brought into my life. At first, I tried coping in my wheelchair. And that worked for a while. Then I tried resigning myself to my situation, but that only seemed to foster more self-pity. Then I threw my hands up in the air, as it were, and just gave up. “I’m frustrated, almost resentful, that it has to be this way, but okay, I’ll accept quadriplegia.” But I had merely submerged my rebellion under that. I had said, “Okay, God, I give up,” but I still coddled a lot of bitterness in my heart. So, coping, submitting, resigning myself to what had to be – none of it worked. And maybe you identify.
If so, let me tell you what finally did work. A little humility. The kind of humility talked about in Philippians where even Jesus made himself nothing before the Father. I needed that same attitude: God is great and I am not. He is pure and I am dirty. He knows best, and I’m far from it. God is wise and I’ve got miles to go. You get your mind set in that direction, and you are on your way to humility. You are on your way to saying with Job, “Shall we accept good from God and not also trouble?” And look, if you can say that without a hint of self-pity or bitterness, believe me, you have said it all. When you contentedly accept good from God and also trouble, you are not only in a league with Job, you are in a league with Jeremiah who said, “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” You are also in a league with Isaiah who said, “Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker… Does the clay say to the Potter, ‘what are you making?’” Oh, friend, to be considered in the ranks of Job or Jeremiah and Isaiah! That can be you today if you will but humble yourself and gracefully accept both good things and bad things from the hand of God.
Do you want to do that? Would you like to be in a league with Jeremiah and Isaiah and Job? You can, you know, and it begins with humbling yourself before the God of the Bible. And to help you to do this, my good friend Dave Deuel has written an excellent little booklet called “Is God Listening?” It’s a marvelous collection of insights about the wise sovereignty of God and how He answers the prayers of people like, well, like me, when I was resentful about my paralysis and all the trouble it caused. I know these insights in this booklet will help you rise above any tinge of self-pity over your hardships, so contact joniradio.org today and ask for your gift, this special booklet, “Is God Listening?” Again, that’s joniradio.org. And finally, if you are frustrated in your troubles, then please, get on your knees so to speak, get humble, and then get in the ranks with Job and Jeremiah and even Isaiah.
Oh, and one more thing. I want to send you a copy of our Joni and Friends newsletter. So just go to joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends
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Is God Listening?
When pain and hardship come, you look to the Lord for help and answers. But what do you do when it feels like God is silent? When your circumstances don’t change? In “Is God Listening?,” Dave Deuel encourages you that God is not indifferent to your pain. He always hears your cries for help and for answers. God speaks to you through His Word and reminds you that He walks beside you as a fellow sufferer.
