Don’t Give Up!
Posted by Karah
When Joni Eareckson Tada was 17, she suffered a diving accident that left her a quadriplegic and wheelchair-bound. Despite obvious obstacles, Joni refused to give up. She spent two years in rehabilitation, learning how to live without the use of her arms and legs. She even learned how to hold a paintbrush between her teeth to create fine art pieces. In 2010, after 44 years of quadriplegia, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She underwent surgery and took four rounds of chemotherapy. Now in remission, Joni never gave up when her life got difficult. Instead, she chose to focus on the fact that God was in control and she decided to see her difficulties as opportunities. “Trials are not just assaults to be withstood. No, trials are opportunities to be seized,” she said in a speech at a National Day of Prayer Observance in Washington, D.C., in 2011. “Life becomes inspiring, not in spite of the problems and the hard hits, but because of them.”
Source: http://www.christianpost.com/news/joni-eareckson-tada-encourages-optimism-in-face-of-trials-50126/
THINK ABOUT JONI’S STORY as your read Jeremiah 20:3-6.
What do these two stories have in common?
Jeremiah had been jailed for the things he had prophesied. Yet he went right back to proclaiming the Lord’s Word when he was released. Why?
Would you have given up if you’d been Jeremiah? Explain.
TAKE ACTION
What are the discouraging situations or relationships in your life, the ones in which you’ve tried to proclaim Jesus’ message of hope, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference? Identify them and pray over them today.
Memorize Galatians 6:9. When you feel discouraged or exhausted by situations or people who don’t seem to care about Christ, recite it. Don’t give up!
Posted in Devotions, Girls | Tagged Camp Crestridge for Girls, Jeremiah 20, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Ridgecrest Summer Camps
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