By: Joni Eareckson Tada
What does it mean to flourish in Christ? What does it feel like and look like? Take it from the lady in the wheelchair who lives with chronic pain: a flourishing spiritual life is always birthed through bruising trials. I should know. Life, especially the Christian life, is hard.
But you can flourish. God engineers suffering not so much to teach us something about ourselves, but about Him. If we would hold fast to God in our hardships, we would discover that suffering seals our hearts to God; affliction melts and binds us to our Savior as nothing else can.
A few years ago when I contracted COVID-19, I was told that I had this dangerous virus and wondered aloud, “God, is this my death sentence?” I had tried so hard to avoid it. Throughout that year, I remained sequestered due to my fragile lungs─so the first few nights of dealing with COVID-19 felt overwhelming. Being a quadriplegic, it was so hard to breathe, especially at night in bed.
Somewhere in the fog of illness, I remembered the lessons I had learned through past afflictions. I strengthened myself in the Lord by recalling that my disability had already taught me how to carry crosses─yes, even this cross. And so, I listened for the voice of God in the night. Somewhere around 2:00 a.m., I sensed the Lord whispering, “Joni, do you believe Me, that I will never leave you or forsake you? That I am your ever-present help in this trouble? That this doubting only makes things worse? Do you believe that my grace is sufficient, whether I take you home or assign you to remain? Do you trust Me?”...
✨ Want more encouragement? Read the full article in Just Between Us Magazine on Substack—your weekly source of biblical encouragement for women.
