Joni Eareckson Tada gave a profound explanation of why God allows suffering.
Joni Eareckson Tada
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Joni and Friends organization, Joni Eareckson Tada, gave a beautiful reminder, especially to those who are suffering. When she was still new in the Lord, she was excited to learn more about Him. She would memorize Scripture and apply it to her life. Not long after that, she founded Joni and Friends to share the hope she received from Jesus. She chose to serve every person with a disability and offer them the hope that she had.
Then, she wrote a book listing thirty-five good reasons why God allows suffering. In it, she described the spiritual benefits people could gain. She said that suffering would refine their faith and eventually lead them to depend on Him. At the same time, God uses suffering to make people realize that He is more concerned with their character than their comfort.
Suffering
“Suffering teaches us self-control. It gives us empathy for other people who hurt. It binds Christians together in a common cause, and it teaches us to follow God’s word,” she explained.
Years later, she began to struggle with chronic pain and had to battle cancer twice. Those difficult moments overwhelmed her. “It felt unbearable. All of it seemed to outweigh any good benefit that might come from hardship,” she described.
Furthermore, she realized that she needed to go deeper into her relationship with God. She mentioned a story about a boy who was riding a bike down a hill and crashed through the asphalt. While the boy was crying, his father came running to him. What most fathers would do is not explain the details about why he was hurt. Instead, they would just pick him up, embrace him, tap him on the back, and say, “There, there, sweetheart. Daddy’s here. Daddy’s here. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Joni and Friends [@joniandfriends]. Suffering Instagram, 4 June 2024, https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7w3j4GP044/
Loving Father
Moreover, she believed that this is what people want when they suffer. “We want God to be a kind and compassionate Daddy. We want Him to be in the middle of our pain,” she highlighted. And the good news is that Father God is just like that. He doesn’t give His people reasons. Instead, He shows His children how good and loving He is through the grace of Jesus Christ and the presence of His Spirit.
Then, she shared Hebrews 2:10: “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God should make the Author of their salvation perfect through suffering.” She stressed that if Jesus was made perfect through many afflictions, it would be fitting for His followers to experience the same thing.
Watch the full video here.
Reference | Joni and Friends
Header Image: Joni and Friends [@joniandfriends]. Suffering Instagram, 4 June 2024, https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7w3j4GP044/
