Rejecting Self-Pity
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and if I were to sum up my testimony, I would point to my broken neck. ’Cause I hated being paralyzed. But I also hated the suffocation of self-pity. I realized I could not live in hopelessness. I finally cried out, “Oh, God, if I can’t die, please show me how to live!” It was a short prayer, but the Holy Spirit heard me. And that’s when I began to get out of bed and face life. My sister would push me to a music stand on which she set my Bible. Clenching a mouth stick between my teeth, I began digging deep into its pages, doing countless searches on words like “affliction” or “disappointment.” Over time, I left self-pity behind, but not without many months spent in God’s Word. It’s such a good example of Psalm 34: “I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” And guess what? By the Word of God, he’ll do the same for you.
