Dadina’s Story
Friend, did you know the trust you show God drives Satan up a wall? Isn’t that the truth!
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada! You know what Satan does; he sure does love to taunt God. He’ll look at you and he’ll say to God: “She doesn’t really love you, she loves your blessings. You’re not great enough, God, to get someone to follow you on your own merits.” That may be the devil’s ploy, but we won’t let him get away with it, are we? Especially when we’re going through suffering. If you’re like me, you want your life to show that God is worth following on His own merits. So, count me in with Job; when the going gets tough, I say, “Though he slay me, yet will I put my trust in him.”
Now here’s the thing: A statement like that speaks highly of Job, but it speaks far more highly of God. Nothing deflates the devil more than when God’s people choose the Lord over fear and doubts; when they choose their Savior over affliction and pain, and when through tears you whisper, “Oh, Lord, despite this hard trial I prefer you; Lord God I’m not going to fear or doubt, I choose you; I yield to you, I bow to you.” Like I said, that drives Satan up a wall.
And you know what? This makes the life of the most insignificant person a battlefield on which the mightiest forces of the universe converge in warfare – you and I, no matter how small we seem in God’s kingdom, we get to make God famous! We get to make Him out to be as good as He really is! It elevates the status of the lowliest Christian on earth onto a cosmic field of warfare where the stakes are about as high as you can get!
I saw this played out in the life of Dadina, a Romanian gypsy who, up until a month ago, lived her whole life in her back bedroom. No one in that gypsy village in Romania had seen Dadina in years. A series of strokes disabled her when she was 22 years old, and for three long decades Dadina had lived her life in bed, think about that! When our “Wheels for the World” team entered her little village, a crowd gathered. Then when a couple of team members went into Dadina’s house with a wheelchair, the crowd was amazed. They had heard about this woman with a stroke who hadn’t been seen in ages and now, these Americans were going to go help her? An hour later, two of our physical therapists wheeled out Dadina in her new wheelchair, an adult-sized recliner chair. When she was rolled outside and looked up into the sky and felt the sun on her face, Dadina started crying. And she said in broken English, “Thanks to God for letting me see the sky.” She didn’t say: “I’m mad at you God for leaving me paralyzed in bed.” No, she said, “Thank you God for letting me see the sky.”
That’s absolutely amazing. Dadina’s words, no doubt, sent the devil high-tailing it. Because, you see, the world would understand if she had said, “I’m angry at you, Lord, for leaving me abandoned for three decades in bed.” But instead, Dadina echoed the words of Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.” And with that the status of a poor, lowly gypsy woman with a disability was lifted onto a cosmic field of warfare upon which she has gained a huge victory for Christ, teaching the unseen world that God really is worth trusting.
We were able to capture on film that moment that Dadina was wheeled out into the sun and I posted the video of Dadina on my radio page at joniandfriends.org. It is really quite something to see, so I encourage you to visit us online today at joniandfriends.org. Be encouraged that every time you say “No” to complaining and “Yes” to trusting God you’re in a club with Dadina.
*Previously aired as #7571 on 5/9/11.
© Joni and Friends
