On Joni Eareckson Tada’s “Heart of the Founder” series, Joni shares her hard-won insights on hope, which she calls “the best of things.” If you struggle to find hope today, Joni understands. In the early days after breaking her neck and becoming a quadriplegic, Joni struggled and lost hope. But through Christian friends who reached out to her, Joni discovered that Jesus, our Living Hope, never fails. Listen as Joni shares about the hope available to you in Jesus, who died on the cross to conquer death and despair for all who trust in him.
Do you ever struggle to feel hopeful about your life? When suffering and pain get overwhelming, whether because of the challenges of disability, chronic pain, loss of a loved one, or even world events, hope can seem fleeting—or even impossible to find.
Today, in every hardship you or your loved ones face, Jesus offers you hope and is faithful to provide what you need.
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU FIND HOPE THROUGH HARDSHIP:
· Order Joni’s book, Infinite Hope in the Midst of Struggles, for inspirational stories, hand-picked Scriptures, and breathtaking artwork that will stir hope in your heart. · Get your copy of Joni’s booklet, Hope: The Best of Things · For more Christ-centered encouragement from Joni, sign up to receive her daily devotional.
KEY QUESTIONS:
· Where do you turn for hope when life feels grim?
· How can you lean on Jesus today to find new hope?
· Who in your life needs fresh hope—and how can you connect them to Jesus?
KEY SCRIPTURES:
· Hebrews 6:19: “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.”
· Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Crystal Keating:
This is the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast and I’m your host Crystal Keating. Each week we’re bringing you encouraging conversations about finding hope through hardship and practical ways that you can include people living with disability in your church and community. As you listen, visit joniandfriends.org/podcast to access the resources we mention, or to send me a message with your thoughts.
Stephanie Daniels:
Hope. It's a beautiful thing. It's the promise that looming darkness won't last forever. The sunlight breaking through the clouds. Hope is always there, but sometimes life's challenges can make it so hard to see. We've likely all faced moments when grief, despair, or darkness seem to linger far too long.
For Joni Eareckson Tada, that moment came at just 17 years old after a diving accident left her as a quadriplegic. Can you imagine the weight of such a life altering event? Wondering how a life once filled with so much talent and promise could possibly move forward? In her darkest hours, when the enemy thought he had the upper hand, Joni found a lifeline, the Word of God. Like a lamp, it revealed her brokenness and illuminated the path forward, stirring hope in her fainting heart.
Let's listen together as Joni shares how trusting in the Lord transformed her despair into a life overflowing with hope.
Joni Eareckson Tada:
One of my favorite verses is Romans 15, verse 13. I mean, just listen to this. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Oh, to live a life overflowing with hope, right? Because you know as well as I do that there are times when life seems to plunge us into one long dark night. A deep grief that, um, keeps lingering, a botched surgery that turns chronic, or a heart stabbing rejection you cannot shake. Yet as certain as the dawn comes after a long night, hope is just as certain. As the morning chases away the night, hope chases away despair.
It's why I love that hope filled promise of Psalm 30, verse 5. “Weeping may endure for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” And I wish I could explain how dark my life used to feel when I was first injured. Sitting by our farmhouse window, longing to be able to ride horses again. Watching my sisters race out the back door and not being able to follow them. Um, being a bridesmaid in other people's weddings, not to mention infections, pressure sores, all of it keeping me bedridden.
I put on a smile for my friends and family, but inside my heart was dark. One day as I was aimlessly flipping through my Bible, um, using my mouth stick, I stumbled across Isaiah chapter 50 verse 10, "Let he who walks in darkness and has not a single ray of light, let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God."
Man, that, that, that described me exactly. It described exactly how I felt, groping in the dark and, and unable to find the light. Yet, Isaiah 50 verse 10 also gave me direction. Start trusting God, Joni. Not just talking about trusting him, but, but actually doing it. And as I reached out in the dark for God's hand, that's when I began to sense this, uh, this, uh, faint stirring of hope, like a, like a magnet.
This little hint of hope kept pulling me closer to the Lord. And soon, I found myself waking up from that long, dreary night of spiritual darkness. Those first stirrings of hope became a trail that actually led me to Romans 15:13. There, the God of all hope guarantees me all joy and peace. Not just some, but all joy and peace. If, if, if I would but trust in him. “Trust and obey,” that old hymn says, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus. And here's the thing, I still did not have answers. You know, about why God allowed this to happen, but hope was beginning to rise in my heart.
We don't think much about hope, do we, until, uh, until we're in trouble. Yet it is the one virtue people cannot live without. The hope which the Bible speaks of is not wishful thinking. It is based on the true and eternal promises of God. Every morning, God stands ready to pour out his mercy, his grace, and that's a promise. Every morning, God is ready to lead you into a day filled with purpose, that's a promise. Every morning, God is ready to show you more of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that is a promise. Every morning, he brings you one day closer to heaven, where what we hope for will become reality. A life with, with no more night, no more tears, no more sorrow or pain.
With promises like these, how could we not have hope? It's why we long for, quote, "that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." That's from uh Titus chapter 2, verse 13.
Hope is everything. It keeps you moving forward. It keeps you getting out of bed in the morning. Hope gets you dressed in the morning and heading out the door to share that same hope with others. But, but, it all starts with trusting Jesus. Believing that morning will come. Your weeping is only going to endure for a while. It starts with reaching out in the darkness for the hand of God Almighty.
And now after, uh, many decades of paralysis and pain, I can say that I may be one of the most hopeful people you will ever meet. And I shout out the words of 1 Peter 1, verse 3. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His great mercy, He has given us all new birth into a living hope.” Isn't that great? “A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Woo.
Oh friend. I want you to experience that living hope, resurrection hope. For as the line in that old movie goes, “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.” So get busy living. You need hope? Sure you do. You've been dying long enough in your darkness.
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow. What a beautiful reminder, Joni. Jesus Christ is our living hope. Listening to this message brought to mind my friend's mom, the late Gail McWilliams. Gail, a once sighted wife, mother, author, and teacher, faced an incredible challenge. While growing her family, she discovered she had a condition that caused her to lose more of her eyesight with each child she had.
Doctors urged her not to have more children, even recommending abortion for the child she was carrying. But Gail chose to trust in a loving God and hold on to hope. She went on to give birth to five incredible children who all love and serve the Lord. Gail's story reminds us that in the midst of impossibly bleak circumstances, hope sees where our natural eyes cannot.
Hebrews 6:19 tells us “we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” And later in chapter 10, verse 23, it encourages us, “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” We serve a God who is faithful and trustworthy. He cannot lie and he never fails.
As Joni reminds us through Romans 15:13, “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
When we trust in Christ and lean into him, he will fill us with hope that pushes back the darkness. That's my prayer for you today, that you would lean into the God of hope and begin to trust him more deeply than ever before. And as you do, may his hope and joy rise within you, driving away the clouds and warming your heart with his presence.
Friends, may you be filled with the living hope of Jesus today. If you're in need of encouragement, we'd love to pray with you and offer spiritual support. Visit us at joniandfriends.org/podcast.
Crystal Keating:
Thank you for listening today. For more episodes, find us wherever you get your podcast and be sure to subscribe. We’d also love it if you would tell a friend. And for more encouragement, follow Joni and Friends on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube. And visit our website at joniandfriends.org/podcast. Thank you for listening to the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast.