Joni’s Corner

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God’s Idea of Good

After I broke my neck in my 1967 diving accident, I refused to believe I was paralyzed. Doctors told me that I would never use my hands or legs again, but it didn’t sink in. Every time I prayed, I focused on walking again. To me, it was a good request. Jesus said so in Matthew 7:9-12, “If evil people know how to give good gifts, how much more will God give good gifts to those who ask him?” What could be a better gift than walking?

I did everything possible to walk again. I worked hard in physical therapy, assuring my PT that before long, I would be up on my feet. I attended healing services and was the first to wheel up front to receive my miracle. I strained mentally to “make” my hands move. I pushed myself to try to stand, run, hold hands, or even hold a bottle of soda. I straightened up my spiritual act and began reading God’s Word more regularly. I prayed more earnestly, thinking, surely God won’t ignore the prayers of an insistent saint. You can imagine how disappointed I felt when, years later, I was still paralyzed. My hands and legs were still limp and useless. God, I thought, “You say in Psalm 84:11 that you withhold no good thing from those whose walk is blameless. When will I ever get back use

Joni’s Corner heart-to-heart with Joni Eareckson Tada

of my legs?!” I did not understand. God promised to not withhold any good thing. And to me, walking was a good thing.

Then one day a friend said, “Joni, I want you to know that I think you’re pretty courageous. Your smile in your wheelchair tells me that God can help me get through my problems.” Her comment about courage resonated deeply within me. Something told me this was God’s “good thing.”

I realized God wasn’t so much interested in healing my legs, but in healing my heart. God was interested in a deeper healing, and I discovered that His good gifts spoken of in Matthew 7 were gifts of courage and endurance. The Lord wanted to use my paralysis to cultivate perseverance, patience, and a deep reliance on Him—these are good things that will last for all of eternity. With that, I began to pray for a contented heart, settled thoughts, a mouth that didn’t complain, eyes that refused to envy others, and ears that stopped listening to the devilish lie that “one is better off dead than disabled.” In short, I began to accept God’s idea of what is good—a deeper kind of good.

A very casual reading of Matthew 7 might have you asking for financial stability, but God may want to keep you leaning on and learning to trust Him. You may desire to marry, but God may keep you single and dependent on His grace. You might ask for a clean medical report, but God just may want to give you courage to face the unknown. These are the “good gifts” of which God is speaking in Matthew 7. Over the decades, I’ve come to delight in and rejoice over virtues like valor, faith, perseverance, endurance, and peace that is profound, and joy that is unshakable. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade them for any amount of walking, and I would rather be in this wheelchair knowing Jesus as I do, than to be on my feet without Him—and without an ironclad faith refined by fiery trials. Yes, walking is a good thing. But a strong faith and happy dependence on God is so much better! Life is richer and far more satisfying when lived with a courageous trust in Christ. So, the next time you are wondering what good could possibly come from your trials, look for “Every good and perfect gift that comes from above, from the Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17). Rest assured, it will be a gift that will satisfy like nothing else can!

Joni Eareckson Tada, the founder of Joni and Friends International Disability Center, is an advocate for people with disabilities, providing Christ-centered programs for special-needs families through retreats. She has also delivered over 100,000 wheelchairs and Bibles to disabled people in developing nations. Her new daily devotional, A Spectacle of Glory, contains fresh biblical insights from her battle with cancer and chronic pain. Joni also serves as general editor of the new Beyond Suffering Bible, a special edition published by Tyndale for those who suffer chronic conditions, and their caregivers. She and her husband, Ken, live in Calabasas, Calif.

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