Used by God to Change the World

2 Corinthians 4:8

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

When Joni Eareckson was 17 years old, she dove into the Chesapeake Bay, misjudging the shallowness of the water and fractured her spine becoming paralyzed from the shoulders down. During her two years of rehabilitation, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and doubts about her faith.

Even now, over 50 years later, she gets overwhelmed and in difficult pain. But she never allows herself to say or think, "I can't stand this anymore...This is too much... 'That kind of negative defeatist thinking only exacerbates fear and magnifies the pain.'" Instead, she speaks to the pain and sleeplessness calmly. "You think you will overwhelm me but you will not!" Then she quotes this verse in Corinthians.

She went on to say that she lives on God's promises and memorizes his Word so that in the middle of the day or night, she can meditate on what it says. Most of us think that we have a rough time of life. We become focused on our struggles that seem to overshadow our view on everything else. We become sorry for ourselves and give up.

Are you awake at night with thoughts of anxiety, doubt, anger, and depression? Joni determined that the way out, the way to be victorious in the mental and emotional battle that wanted to take her to a deep pit was the truth of what God has said rather than the self pity that her mind was wallowing in.

Have you determined that you will hide God's Word in your heart and make that the guiding light for how you live and decide and respond to things that want to crush your spirit?

Even though she cannot move below the shoulders, Joni eventually learned to paint using a brush between her teeth, selling her artwork to thousands. She has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, been nominated for an Oscar, and starred in a movie about her life. She helped to write the Americans with Disabilities Act, and is an advocate for disabled people around the world.

It is doubtful that anyone would have foreseen such a meaningful impact from an able bodied celebrity let alone a person who was lying in a hospital bed unable to move even her toes. Your life can count for God no matter what has happened, whether it was your fault or not. Write this verse down on a card today and carry it with you. The Lord wants to use you today in the life of someone who needs Him.