Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with an uneasy story…

You see, there's a new mall in town and my friend and I went to visit it last weekend. I could not believe how many lingerie stores there are now—even Chico's has expanded into lingerie. It seems to be all the rage, but I wheeled right past those shops. I did not even slow down, did not even look at the mannequins, didn't even glance in, because I know from years of experience in this wheelchair I gotta steer clear of places like, like Victoria's Secret. Now, now I don't have anything against lacey, intimate apparel, it's just that because of my quadriplegia, that stuff just isn’t “me.” And besides I don't want to set before my eyes those cute little lacey, frilly things that remind me of what I've lost, what is not mine. I mean, I'm not standing on my feet with a slim, trim figure—again, that’s not me. So, I don't want to go down a road, or into a store in the mall, which will only stir up discontent; that’s the key. I don't want to look at a mannequin wearing something skimpy and start comparing my paralyzed body with someone standing up (even if that someone is a plaster of Paris mannequin in the window of a store).

"Turn my eyes away from worthless things..." That advice is found in Psalm 119, and boy, is it good counsel these days. ‘Cause you know how it is in our culture, right? When coming up out of depression, discouragement, or the despairing news of some medical condition, or other painful chronic problem, we "do our souls a favor" when we stay focused on things that are beneficial to our spiritual health, not a detriment. It's one reason I don't even flip through lingerie catalogs when they come to my house.

Perhaps one of the most challenging yet rewarding roads to spiritual health is the "discipline" of single-minded satisfaction on what has come from God's hand. And the best way to safeguard your contentment in Christ is to ask the Holy Spirit to whisper Psalm 119 into your ear every now and then, "Turn my eyes away from worthless things." Worthless things are the kind that only feed self-pity or self-centeredness. Worthless things carry your mind off into daydreams. Worthless things have no redeemable value, no eternal worth. And remember, the psalmist is asking God: he says, Lord, you, you’re the one, please turn away my eyes, tell me when something is worthless, that is, something that's not worth looking at or pondering or contemplating.

And so, friend, I challenge you to do it today. I'm asking you to join me in disciplining your eyes and your mind—I can think of the worthless things you sometimes see at a shopping mall, or flipping through a magazine. The worthless things that will pop up those ads on your computer, or maybe even the worthless things on a dessert tray, or how about cruising the channels on your television late at night?Yikes! If you want to remain content in Christ and the lot in life with which He's blessed you, then turn your eyes away from everything, everything that's worthless. And instead, turn your eyes toward Jesus who, by the way, the next time, will have you happily convinced that the thing you wanted to look at anyway wasn't worth looking at. Right? Right! And I would like to hear your opinion on this. I'm posting this program on my Facebook page today, so let me hear from you on a post. What are the worthless things that you’d like to stop looking at? Let us know and we will be praying for you. By the way, I would love to hear what you are praying about or a favorite Bible verse that you are memorizing. Tell me about it. Just go to my radio page today at joniandfriends.org or you can always write me at Joni and Friends, Post Office box 3333, Agoura Hills, California 91376. If the Lord has answered some prayer of yours today, guess what? Stop right after we are done here and tell Him “Thanks”.

By: Joni Eareckson Tada

© Joni and Friends