Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Shauna: I'm Shauna with Joni Eareckson Tada sharing hope. Thanks for listening today.

Joni Eareckson Tada: God always provides for what He asks us to do. Think about that. It's a powerful statement. God always provides for what He asks us to do. Okay, so here's one example out of many from the Bible. In Exodus chapter 12, when the Israelites left Egypt, they did not walk out empty-handed.

The Bible says that the Lord caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So there they go, departing not only freed from slavery but carrying the wealth that God moved the Egyptians to give them. Now, that abundant provision later became the very materials used to build the Tabernacle in the desert.

So before God ever asked for obedience from His people in the desert, He had already supplied what was needed in order to obey. Now, that is so encouraging to me sitting in this wheelchair. God has in as much placed me in it, which is not an easy thing. But God always provides for what He asks me to do. And so even though He has asked me to live as a quadriplegic for pretty much all my life, He has provided grace upon grace, supplying exactly what I need in order to obey Him in this chair.

And the same is true for you. You could be the parent of a special needs child, you could be married to a difficult spouse, you could have a chronic medical condition, you could be caring for an aged parent. But if God is asking you to do this, He promises you in Philippians chapter 2, verse 13, and this is from the Amplified Bible version. It says, "For it is not your strength but is God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work, that is strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose for His good pleasure."

Now, that is the whole point. It's the endgame. Because if we obey the Lord, if we trust Him in our difficult circumstances—as a caregiver, as a wheelchair user, a patient spouse—if we trust Him in these hard things, we please Him. Like Philippians 2 says, for God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. And oh, what a power-packed promise it is, almost too good to be true. Because you will agree, it is often hard to obey the Lord when we are in a bewildering, demanding, tough circumstance.

Actually, it feels near impossible to obey the Lord. But the promise is that God provides exactly what we need in order to obey Him in that tough situation. Before God ever asked you for obedience, He had already supplied what you needed in order to obey. What a generous God we have. He gives us grace upon grace upon grace so that we can trust Him in any difficult situation in life.

Shauna: Oh, Joni, you know I'm the mother of a special needs young adult, and I know I will never look at Philippians 2:13 the same way again. Thank you for reminding us that God provides what we need in order to obey Him. And caregiving is one of those difficult situations in life for which we need lots of grace.

And so, friend, we're offering Ken’s booklet on caregiving called For Better or Worse. Just reach out to us at joniradio.org and ask for your free copy today. And if Joni's insights have blessed you, and I know they have, then share it with a friend who might be struggling. Again, Ken's booklet is there for you at joniradio.org.