Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Guest (Female): This is Shana on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. And Joni, this morning I heard you say, "I know I need God."

Joni Eareckson Tada: And I'm glad I know that because human beings are naturally inclined to think we don't need God. We're such proud, resourceful people—independent, self-reliant. Sure, we think we need Jesus to get us into heaven, but beyond that, well, as Christians, we pretty much have the lay of the land. We know the ropes, we know the spiritual routine, we can manage our days very well, thank you, without really needing God at every turn.

I don't think so. And it's why I'm so very grateful for my quadriplegia, for hands that don't work and feet that don't walk, because these things underscore my daily, desperate, urgent, rather moment-by-moment need of God. I am fallen, I'm broken, I'm a sinner, and I am weak. This is what alcoholics understand, and they recite it like a mantra every time they gather for a recovery meeting. First thing they will say is, "My name is John and I'm an alcoholic." Lasting change is premised upon their self-awareness of the wrongness of their condition.

When they stop believing that they are, in fact, in essence, an alcoholic, bad things tend to happen. And I get that; I understand that. It's why every day I lean heavily on a cross-shaped crutch because I am weak, I am needy, and I'm so broken. There are so many things about me that require fixing, and I am not ashamed to admit it because that is my access to the power of God. God never pours out His power on the proud and resourceful.

No, rather He only gives grace at our points of brokenness. So if there is something the matter with your life that needs changing, identify what is wrong, name it, and own it. Recognize that it has in the past defined you. Be like a recovering alcoholic: admit your weakness and boast in your need of a savior. In 1925, a missionary to India named Stan Jones wrote about this very thing in his book, The Christ of the Indian Road. He shares a conversation he had with Mahatma Gandhi in which Jones observed that neither Hindu karma nor Muslim kismet could bring about change in a person's life, but the cross is different.

He wrote, quote, "The cross never knows defeat, for it is of itself defeat, and you cannot conquer defeat. You cannot break brokenness. The cross starts with defeat and accepts that as a way of life, but in that very attitude, it finds its victory. The cross-filled life never knows when it is defeated, for it turns every impediment into an instrument and every difficulty into a door, every trial into a trail toward redemption." End quote.

Anyone who would put the cross at the center of their life would never know defeat. Rather, it would have a quenchless hope that Easter morning lies just beyond every Calvary every day. So friend, today own your brokenness and embrace the cross. Know that every setback and disappointment has potential to be part of your growth. Living like that, every challenge cannot be an opportunity to fail because brokenness cannot be broken. The alcoholic does not become an alcoholic again.

Instead, such crises become opportunities to grow. As Jones insists, they are doors to a better place. So today, lean hard on the cross-shaped crutch. See that every difficulty is an open door. It's the life of Calvary. It's the life of Jesus. And as you live it, may your days be full of Easter mornings as you experience the lesser Calvaries of life on this side of heaven.