Who is Like You, Lord?

When you’ve got a disability, it really paves the way for the Gospel! 

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I saw it happen in the most amazing way. It was years ago when my husband and I were crossing into a closed access country to help train a few small churches on how to reach out to people with disabilities. My interpreter – her name was Dagmar – had an amputated leg, and she used a prosthetic one, along with crutches. She had warned us that there would be a tough inspection at the border crossing, and our van would be thoroughly searched. As we approached the border crossing she said, “Let us pray that they will not take our boxes of Bibles.” Ken and I had anticipated the risk, and so that morning, he had stowed the Bibles underneath our luggage. On top of that, Dagmar had casually placed several of her prosthetic legs, as well as an extra pair of crutches. When we pulled up to the guard station, we stopped the van, got out while the border agents began looking through our things. We stepped back and breathed a prayer as one agent lifted the trunk of our van. He cocked his head when he saw the pile of plastic legs and the metal crutches. We weren’t sure if he was reticent to touch such personal equipment or what, but it made him shrug his shoulders, slam the trunk closed, and give us the okay to get back in the van and proceed.  

Safely away from the crossing and now into this closed-access country where the church, as well as the disabled, had desperate, overwhelming needs, we sang our praises to God. He safeguarded his Word using a most unusual shield: prosthetic legs and crutches. I mean, who cares about that stuff? Disability stuff?! We were elated, for it was an Exodus chapter 15 moment: “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?” And you know why it happened? The Lord cares about the needy; the desperately needy; the afflicted and the lame; the blind and the crippled. And God used our ministry in that country to rescue out of darkness people with disabilities through the help and hope of his Word, those precious Bibles. And today, this country and its churches is one of our strongest partners. 

I share this astounding story, because at Joni and Friends, we’re still doing it; we’re taking risks. We’re going where no one else dares to go. We’re reaching the disabled. Who cares about them? Who wants to touch those people?! Well, others may be reticent, but not us. At Joni and Friends we’re heaven bent when it comes to reaching the disabled for Christ. And God is still working wonders!  

A friend of the ministry believes so much in our work, that he has stepped forward with a big gift and is challenging us to match it. It’s not ours, this gift, unless we match it. So, if you got a heart for evangelism, especially among the weakest and neediest who need hope, then visit me at joniradio.org. Join us as we work in some of the darkest, most closed corners of the world to bring the Word of God, as well as practical help, to people with disabilities. Help us share Christ’s hope in their hardship. And you can help us do it at joniradio.org.  

Finally, I pray that today, God will thrill your heart in some fresh new way; some fresh insight that will get you singing, “Who is like you, O Lord among the gods? Who is like you among the nations, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, and doing wonders!”  

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.  

© Joni and Friends