Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Guest (Female): Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Here’s Joni to read a brief portion of scripture to see if you catch something that’s small but so significant.

Joni Eareckson Tada: I want to read a brief portion of scripture to see if you catch something that's small but so significant. It's from Exodus chapter 14, verse 16, and listen closely: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.'" Got that? Did you hear it? The Lord tells Moses to raise his staff.

But look what happens in chapter 17, and I’m reading verse nine here. Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow, I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands."

I hope you caught that small but significant difference in those two verses. Because when God parted the Red Sea, He told Moses to, quote, "Raise your staff." But after that glorious miracle occurred, Moses from then on out was very careful to refer to it as "the staff of God."

Before, it was just an ordinary stick of wood. But when the Lord chose it for His tool to accomplish His purposes, that staff took on new ownership and took on new meaning. What was once the staff of Moses became the staff of God. And there is a wonderful lesson here for you and me, because God is in the miraculous business of exchanging the tragic meaning behind accidents, injuries, illnesses, always for something new and positive.

He even loves taking what was once ordinary and making it extraordinary. The cross is a good example. I mean, what was once a symbol of torture and pain, right, the cross on which Christ died? That cross no longer means something awful. Because of Christ and what He did on the cross, it is now a symbol of hope and salvation, all because of Jesus and His amazing work of redemption. Perhaps that wooden cross was used before in other crucifixions, but once Jesus was nailed to it, well, then it became His cross.

It’s the amazing story of God exchanging the meaning of suffering for something powerful and oh-so-sweet. And my wheelchair is the same. This wheelchair, which once signified tragedy and confinement, is the very thing that gives me freedom and mobility. It is the very prison that has set my spirit free, all because of Jesus and His amazing work of redemption.

When God uses for His glory the most ordinary things—a staff, a cross, a wheelchair—He gives each one unique and special meaning. So, what are the symbols of tragedy in your life? A crutch? A hearing aid? Where you live? Your appearance? Your abilities? Friend, God can exchange your disappointment for something hopeful and positive. He did it at the cross, and He can do it for you.

Starting this week, we’re going to be delivering hundreds of wheelchairs and bibles to needy disabled people in Cuba. And each child and adult who sits in their new wheelchair and opens their hearts to Christ, well, they won’t be confined to that chair. It’ll be the very thing that introduces them to Jesus. So be praying for our Wheels for the World team in Cuba this week and next.

Guest (Male): And friend, take a minute to drop by joniradio.org today. Let us know how we can pray for you. Our Joni and Friends prayer team is ready and waiting, and we’re delighted to bring your prayer needs before the Lord. And finally, let God exchange your sadness for His hope, for He is the Lord who turns every bit of weeping into joy. God bless you today, friend, and thanks for listening.