Hope Beyond Misery

When it comes to being miserable, there are some people who need no help at all. 

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, and for a lot of these people, being miserable just comes naturally, what can I say? But in case you’re looking for a few suggestions on how to be more miserable, take this advice that I read in a magazine not long ago. Here it is; this is what you gotta do if you want to be miserable, okay? Worry every single day about something. It’s not going to add a cubit to your stature, but it will give you plenty to think about. Next, be sure to count your troubles. Do it at the breakfast table, preferably, so that you can make everybody else around the breakfast table miserable, too. Then pity yourself. Oh, and don’t forget, do this especially if no one else is pitying you. You don’t want to be left alone, so be sure to pity yourself. 

Some more suggestions on how to be more miserable? Well, don’t be compassionate. Don’t dare get involved in the lives of people who share their troubles. Because if you do, you may end up neglecting your own troubles, and oh my goodness, that would be a waste. Don’t let prayer or Bible reading get in the way of what’s really relevant. After all, focusing your sights on things unseen is too eternal; instead of doing that, come on, be relevant, get with the times, get caught up in the here and now. Finally, if you really want to be miserable with a capital M, devise skillful ways to serve both God and the world. Show everyone that Christians can be in the world and of the world. 

I love that list. You know, people who choose to be miserable remind me of Job in the seventh chapter where he says, “Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” Look at that. He says, I will not keep silent; I will be in anguish; I will complain; I will be bitter. Okay, see there that being miserable has a whole lot to do with your will. Friend, when you wake up in the morning, you’re faced with a choice – you can drift through the day, feeling despondent, or you can decide – well, I know what to do. If I wake up in pain, right away it’s like my emotions are trying to ambush me, trying to waylay my morning. It’s like they lie in wait for me to succumb. Oh, but I just cannot allow myself to go down that dark, grim, miserable path. For me as a quadriplegic, wallowing in misery is just too destructive. And I’ve got to say, “I will trust in the Lord; I will not complain; I will go forth into the day knowing Jesus is with me; and I will believe his grace will meet my need.” 

Look, friend, there are people around you for whom misery is a way of life, and many of them, sad to say, are believers. Well, I tell you what – the world has enough misery of its own without Christians adding to it. We are to be in this world, not of it. Do you know someone for whom misery comes naturally? Well, that friend of yours needs to be reminded that God can step into the middle of his misery. That friend needs a heavenly perspective, because the way we respond to troubles down here on earth has a direct bearing on that person’s capacity for enjoying heaven. If we make a habit of choosing misery here, we’re not going to be very happy there. So lift the sights of your friend who’s feeling downcast; jar his thinking; give him hope beyond his misery by showing him at least a dozen ways to trust in the Lord of Joy.  

Oh, and one more thing. Let us pray for you at Joni and Friends. Our staff meets every morning to lift up your prayer requests, so tell us your prayer needs at joniradio.org. Again, that’s joniradio.org. Where we share hope through every hardship. 

© Joni and Friends