Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Welcome to Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. March is Multiple Sclerosis Month, and today Joni has a very special salute.

Joni Eareckson Tada: I want to salute the many people I know, mostly women, who are dealing with this difficult condition. Having MS is no picnic. And I'm thinking of my friend Nancy. When she contracted Multiple Sclerosis in her 30s, she knew it was a life-changing event. Yes, she knew she would experience blurred vision and weakness and numbness in her arms and legs. But what she did not know is that her kind of Multiple Sclerosis would advance so quickly. Within a short decade, Nancy was virtually bedridden and unable to move. This she did not prepare for. I mean, who could?

But through it all, even in the many years since Nancy realized that her bedroom would be her world, she has held fast to her faith in Christ. Even more commendable, her husband held fast and continues to hold to his wedding vows to love and support Nancy in sickness and in health and for better or for worse. This makes this couple an extraordinary witness to their friends and their neighbors and their brothers and sisters at their church.

Still, Nancy though can feel overwhelmed. She told me that there are times when reading the Bible feels like eating cardboard. It's about as inspiring as the Los Angeles phone book. Sometimes her prayers feel like they can't make it past the ceiling. Now, you don't have to have Multiple Sclerosis to know what I'm talking about. Your afflictions may be very different from Nancy's. But there are seasons when your smile loses its shine, your soul becomes dim, and your countenance tells you and everyone around you that something's not quite right.

So what do you do in times like that? What does Nancy do? Well, the closest biblical analogy I can find for those dry days takes place in the middle of a lake. Let's pick up the story in Luke chapter 5. Jesus got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and let down the nets for a catch."

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything, but because You say so, I will let down the net." When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man." Now, this story really speaks to Nancy because morning by morning, day after day, Nancy with her MS has to let down her net one more time, one more day.

But oh, when she does, when she obeys the call of Christ to let down her net one more time, she is surprised by grace. And not just grace, Nancy with her MS, severe MS, even is given joy. Perhaps your net is empty today. You've been trying to resolve a conflict at home, catch up with the dishes and laundry, finish the week's errands, but there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day. You feel dry and deflated, and you wonder if God has misplaced your file somewhere on His desk.

He hasn't. God has been actively engaged moment by moment, every step of the way. And He is asking you today to let down your net one more time. So be faithful, friend. Trust Him. Like my friend Nancy, wait on Him because Jesus can still fill an empty net.

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