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“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.... (Isa 41:10)”
For the sake of ‘balance,’ I wanted to share something from Joni Eareckson Tada, a recognised author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community."
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7w3j4GP044/...
On this link, she speaks to people who are struggling through hardships like her. She starts by telling us why she wrote the “35 good reasons as to why GOD allows suffering”. She describes the Spiritual benefits of how suffering refines our faith and makes us dependent on GOD. It teaches us humility. It shows that GOD is more concerned with character than with our comfort. Suffering teaches us self-control. It gives us empathy for other people who are hurt. It binds Christians together in a common cause and teaches us to follow GOD’s Word.
She then goes on to say that years later, after writing that book, when she started to struggle with extreme chronic pain – she battled cancer twice, then the suffering added to her paralysis - it utterly overwhelmed her. It was unbearable, and all of it seemed to outweigh any good benefit that might come from her hardship. As such, she began to realise she had to go deeper, i.e. “why’ was all this happening? What other good was worth all this extra pain?
She then gives a fabulous example of a little boy cycling down a hill, misjudging the road conditions and crashes, and lying there in abject pain. His father comes rushing out to find his son crumpled up and in much pain, and when the boy sees his Daddy, he cries, “Daddy, why, why? Bottom line, the child doesn’t need a lesson in physics; he needs his Daddy to pick him up, press him against his chest, pat him on the back and say, “There, there, sweetheart … Daddy’s here; everything’s going to be OK.”
And that’s our fundamental cry when ‘we’ suffer. We want GOD to be our compassionate Daddy. And GOD does just that through the Grace of Jesus Christ and the Presence of His Holy Spirit. And the 35 good reasons for suffering…? Every one of them is meant to point us to that Kind and Loving GOD Father, who, because of Jesus Christ, picks us up, holds us close, and assures us that everything’s going to be OK because Jesus is “GOD with us – He is Emmanuel in our suffering.”
So, if GOD is going to bring us to Glory (and He is and He will), then he will perfect us. He will continue to make us like Jesus. He’ll sanctify us, set us apart, and make us holy for heaven through our many hardships—just like Jesus was made perfect through his many afflictions!
As usual, I've asked the Lord what He wants to say to you, and I believe He led me here.
"For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Heb 2:10)
“Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. Christ-conquerors are safe from Devil-death.” (Rev 2:11) 
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URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS
NB - New and urgent prayer requests and updates are coming in thick and fast and getting too long to just be tagged onto the daily encouragement. As such, I've created a separate page for you to view on the link below, which will be updated constantly ...
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