Joni Eareckson Tada’s Pearls of Great Price Devotional is deep and profound ….

…. and here is today’s entry dated January 28 ….

An inspiring example…..

“For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.”
Romans 14:7

No man is an island.  We are all connected.  Our lives are always influencing others, whether for good or for bad.  When people who face lesser conflicts — like a bruised ankle or sow bugs on the shower — observe someone who is gracefully handling greater conflicts, it speaks volumes.  Liz Hupp knew a godly saint like that in her church.  And Liz wrote:

I saw the woman in the chair, she was in church again today.
Someone said they’ve sold their house; they’re going to move away.
No! I cried, they cannot go; they cannot move away.
I didn’t get to know her; there’s something I need to say:
Please tell me your secret; I want to sit at your feet,
I need to know how you handle the pain that is your daily meat.
How do you keep on smiling when each day your health grows worse?
How do you keep depending on God when you’re living with a curse?
Every time I see her, her smile comes from deep within.
I know her fellowship with God isn’t scarred by the chair she’s in.
She admits her health is failing; she knows she’s fading away.
How can she remain so calm when I’d be running away?
My friend, can you tell me how you can trust the Lord?
How can you stay so gentle and sweet when He seems to wield a sword?
You are to me a promise that even in the midst of pain
God is near and faithful if I will turn to Him again.

Who are your role models of inspiration?  Who are the godly examples of perseverance?  Who do you think of when you need an example of the sufficiency of Christ in hardship?  Pray for that person — or persons — whom the Lord has placed around you.  These Christian men and women struggle with doubts and discouragement too.

Irene drove herself to and from dialysis today, afterward, feeling extremely fatigued and nauseated.  Her phosphorous levels remain very high and she just can’t get enough “back and body scratch”!  The itching is yet another side effect of all she’s enduring.  She trudged through today and looks forward to a new tomorrow.

Who did you think of when Joni posed the penetrating questions in her devotional?

• Who are your role models of inspiration?
• Who are the godly examples of perseverance?
• Who do you think of when you need an example of the sufficiency of Christ in hardship?

Great questions …. and, if you’re like me, you thought of Irene and her model of inspiration and perseverance.  She is a robust example of Christ’s sufficiency in hardship.

Caminando con Fé

Dave