Ask Anything in My Name

Bible Reading: John 14Focus verse: John 14:13-14 - "You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.  Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!"

(Last week's devotion was on spiritual healing.  This week I want you to hear from a lady who was injured and she is paralyzed and in a wheelchair.)

Hi, this is Joni Eareckson Tada with a word about healing.  There was a season in my life when I begged God to heal me.  And one of the key verses I used in my prayers was John chapter 14, verses 13-14 where Jesus says, "I will do whatever you ask in my name so that the Son may bring glory to the Father." Well, that was quite a promise! Jesus will give us whatever we ask, as long as we ask in his name?!
Well, I kept doing just that—asking in His name, but nothing happened, so I dug deeper, confessing and repenting of whatever extra sin might stand in the way. But still, no healing. I wondered what I was doing wrong.  So I went back to John 14, and this time I read all around it. I discovered that the context is all about "giving the gospel." After all, this chapter was our Savior's last chance to teach his disciples about "the main thing." And the main thing (as we'd all agree) is his Gospel. Jesus was so passionate about his disciples giving the good news, that he inasmuch said, “Look, if there are mountains in your way, I’ll move them. If there’s an obstacle in the way, I’ll help you get rid of it. If it means the advancement of God's kingdom, I’ll do it." Jesus was adamant about this because this is what would give his Father the most glory.
I began to grasp the fact that my suffering was part of God's strategy to further his gospel. After all, it says in First Peter 2:21-22, "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps." Just as Christ suffered yet trusted the Father, I am to follow in His steps on the road marked with suffering and trust my heavenly Father,.
When we Christians trust the Lord in our hardships, it showcases to a skeptical, cynical and unbelieving world that God is worth trusting and the Bible is worth believing. The world can't argue when it sees people in pain rejoice in their God. Friend, no one goes to Christ’s heaven who doesn’t first share in Christ’s sufferings. And there’s a good reason for it. Heaven will be populated with people who opened their hearts to God because they saw the power and the reality of His Gospel demonstrated through you. And that’s worth more than being healed on your feet any day.

He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.
~Joni Eareckson Tada