Jesus Is Beside You
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and God knows we need a little pain!
None of us like it. Nobody wants it. When we come to Christ, we often don’t realize it, but God has wired the Christian life to be filled with pain and suffering, trials and heart-wrenching hardships. Coming from the lady in the wheelchair who deals with chronic pain, I should know. Oh, sure, my suffering is different from yours, but you’d agree with Job in the fifth chapter, “Man is born to trouble, just as the sparks fly upward.” And even C.S. Lewis said, “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We’re even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept [that]. I’ve got nothing that I had not bargained for.”
But you know this. If you have, or you are, suffering some great loss; some loss of ability or a loved one; if you are slowly working through your pain, you instinctively know that this is just part of what it means to follow Christ. And I emphasize Christ here. Because God engineers suffering not so much to teach us something about ourselves or about him – although that is true, and he does – the main point about suffering is that if we would but hold fast to God in it, if we would but not grumble and complain, suffering seals your heart; it melts and binds your heart to your Savior as nothing else.
Look, I’ll be up front. The other day I was reading an advertisement, and it said, “When it comes to logging, farming and land clearing, tree service and big firewood cutting jobs, professionals trust this, the #1 selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor chainsaws in America.” Well, I was hurting so bad, I wanted to take that professional, handheld chainsaw and cut off my hip. I just wanted to be done with the pain; I was so tired of it. And you know what hit me? Jesus relates to that; he gets it; he empathizes with it; he understands. He felt the same way. It says of our Savior in Hebrews chapter 5 that, “During the days of [his] life on earth, Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.” The pain was so foreboding; the suffering was so menacing and sinister, that Jesus is crying out loud for a chainsaw. We know at least one place was in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he did this. And even there, no friend, no companion was willing to help him through it, or stay by his side, or bear it or journey with him through the pain. Yet here’s the thing: even though the very Son of God was heard in heaven, God did not spare him. Jesus still went to a painful death.
Look, your Savior is not a tour guide who chaperones you through life, giving you information about suffering and about sorrow. Jesus does not escort you through life, telling you to “watch out, here comes a hardship; here’s what to do, here’s how to handle it; here’s how you’re supposed to respond to this upcoming pain.” No, it’s not like that. He walks with you; he journeys with you through that valley of darkest despair. His heart is sealed with yours; he is bound to you; you have this union with him in pain that’ll help you through it. His face is alongside yours when you hit the floor, feeling flat-out and totally deflated. “Yea, though I walk through the valley, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” Oh, friend, Jesus is your Emmanuel, God with you in every suffering. And believe me, he is ecstasy beyond compare, and it is worth anything to be his friend. Absolutely anything. So, if you’re looking for a powered, handheld, outdoor chainsaw to remove your pain, please know, Jesus understands; he gets it. But he’s with you.
Thanks for listening today on Joni and Friends!
