The Next Thing
Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada with a different question than why.
’Cause my question is “how?” That became my question some years ago when I entered my battle against chronic pain. I wasn’t asking, “Why, God?” but I asked, “How?” Because I receive letters from people who struggle with far, far more pain than I do, and I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know how they make it. One woman named Barbara has been bedridden for over ten years, and there’s only two positions she can get in – and she’s not even really comfortable in those positions. For Barbara, her pain is so far off the charts, she’s only able to grasp a little bit of sleep in bits and snatches. When she reached out to me, I felt so helpless; like, what do I say? How can I help her bear her burden?
And I guess that’s the key. Don’t be asking God “why.” Ask him “how.” How do we keep on? How do we live? How can we care about others when we’re so tortured ourselves? How can we be kind and civil when we are wracked with pain so much of the time? So, how does Barbara live? What can I tell her? Well, as my friend Dr. Michael Easley will often say – and he lives in constant pain from degenerative disc disease – he says, “Just do the next thing.” And it’s what I tell myself when I’m struggling with pain; I say, “Joni, just do the next thing.” It is overwhelming at times and I tire of the journey, but God is yet kind and faithful in the midst of my suffering. ’Cause we live in a terribly fallen world. So, I comfort myself knowing that while I am a sinner deserving only of hell and punishment, God has by his grace and kindness saved me eternally and this life is only temporary. It helps so much to remember that simple fact – my pain and, for that matter, Barbara’s pain, is just a tiny little, tiny taste of the hell that Christ has rescued us from. Were it not for Jesus and his merciful gift of salvation, the pain we experience here on earth, man, I cannot imagine enduring that for all of eternity. So when I’m in pain, I remind myself of God’s grace and kindness in rescuing me from a forever-hell. And if Jesus in the midst of his own tortuous pain could remember the needs of that thief next to him on his cross, then he’ll give you the grace – he’ll give Barbara the grace – to think of the needs of others even when our own pain seems unbearable.
So, friend, if you’re dealing with pain – aches, pains, maybe a shoulder surgery, hip surgery gone bad – then may I encourage you to “just do the next thing.” It may mean just getting out of bed, or getting off the couch, or getting out of the house, or doing the laundry or washing those dishes that have been piling up in the sink. And as you do, as you ask the Lord for a bit of a reprieve in your pain, ask him also to give you joy in some small but noticeable way. For soon, friend, soon and very soon we shall enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy’s gonna crown our heads, sorrow and sighing will flee away and the lame are gonna leap like deer. What’s more, the book of Revelation says that soon and very soon there’ll be no more night, no more pain, no more tears. So, press on as best you can, and lean helplessly into his arms. You can do no more than that, but you certainly can do no less. Beg of him to help you live faithfully. Ask for the consolation of the Holy Spirit to control you, lest you be inconsolable at times. And don’t forget to take heart. Because one day, you will hear those wonderful words from your Savior, “Well done, good and faithful servant” all because you got up and did the next thing.
© Joni and Friends
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