It is a glorious thing to know that your Father God makes no mistakes in directing or permitting that which crosses the path of your life. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. It is our glory to trust Him, no matter what. Joni Eareckson Tada More Quotes by Joni Eareckson Tada More Quotes From Joni Eareckson Tada Only God is capable of telling us what our rights and needs are. You have to surrender that right to Him. Joni Eareckson Tada surrender rights needs You better be very convinced, very sure, before you pull your plug or someone else's plug, that you know what's on the other side of the gravestone. Joni Eareckson Tada plugs gravestone sides I have an interesting perspective on depending on others. I think it gives people a chance to serve. And I'm not so much big on independence, as I am on interdependence. I'm not talking about co-dependency, I'm talking about giving people the opportunity to practicing love with its sleeves rolled up. Joni Eareckson Tada opportunity talking thinking Believers are never told to become one; we already are one and are expected to act like it. Joni Eareckson Tada believer expected If churches around the world would grasp the revolutionary truth that Christ's transforming power always comes through sacrifice and weakness, it would dramatically alter the landscape of the global church. Joni Eareckson Tada sacrifice weakness church Alzheimer's disease is never an 'accident' in a marriage. It falls under the purview of God's sovereignty. In the case of someone with Alzheimer's, this means God's unconditional and sacrificial love has an opportunity to be even more gloriously displayed in a life together. Joni Eareckson Tada love mean fall When I look at Jesus' warm and intimate friendships, my heart fills with praise that Jesus was. . . a man. A man of flesh-and-blood reality. His heart felt the sting of sympathy. His eyes glowed with tenderness. His arms embraced. His lips smiled. His hands touched. Jesus was male! Jesus invites us to relate to him as the Son of Man. And because he is fully man, we can relate to Jesus with affection and love. Joni Eareckson Tada eye heart jesus We dare not think that God is absent or daydreaming. The do nothing God...He's not tucked away in some far corner of the universe, uncaring, unfeeling, unthinking, uninvolved. Count on it, God intrudes in glorious and myriad ways. Joni Eareckson Tada daydreaming way thinking What a way to learn great theology! That's what comes to mind whenever I sing one of those old hymns. "And Can It Be" is like putting the doctrine of salvation to music. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" is a melodic lesson in grace. No wonder good hymns make for strong faith! Joni Eareckson Tada hymns strong blessing Some people tend to believe that I'm a strong believer, a strong Christian, but that's not true. I'm not a strong believer. I'm very weak. Joni Eareckson Tada strong christian believe Once the reader firmly grasps the truth of human exceptionalism under our Creator God, then the answers to confusing cultural issues begin to be clear. Joni Eareckson Tada creator-god issues confusing In the Christian faith, God really puts suffering front and center. He doesn't get squeamish about it. Joni Eareckson Tada christian-faith suffering christian When we say yes to the grace of God, we are learning how to die. Joni Eareckson Tada grace-of-god dies grace Thankfully, God brought wise Christian friends alongside to help me discover life-transforming precepts in his Word. Joni Eareckson Tada christian wise helping Many people in the throes of suffering, disappointment, and despair, feel utterly stuck in their circumstances. They see no hope beyond their day-to-day drudgery of disability routines; but when hurting families place themselves under the shower of God's mercy, suddenly the clouds part. They realize there's hope, life, and even joy beyond their suffering. Joni Eareckson Tada disappointment hurt clouds Programs, systems and methods sit well in the ivory towers of monasteries or in the wooden arms of icons. Head knowledge comes from the pages of a theology text. But the invitation to know God - truly know Him - is always an invitation to suffer. Not to suffer alone, but to suffer with Him. Joni Eareckson Tada ivory-tower icons suffering Oh, my goodness, when you're a mother and you just give birth to a child with spina bifida and -- or Down's Syndrome or cerebral palsy, there's a bit of a shock you're going to have to go through, a bit of an adjustment curve. Joni Eareckson Tada curves mother children Cancer is such a wake-up call to remind us how high the cosmic stakes really are and how short and brief and frail life really is. Joni Eareckson Tada stakes cancer wake-up The times we find ourselves having to wait on others may be the perfect opportunities to train ourselves to wait on the Lord. Joni Eareckson Tada waiting perfect opportunity There is this fine line between presenting to You all of my weakness and thinking that it can't be done. In Your strength, I find my own. Joni Eareckson Tada weakness done thinking