Do you ever feel hopeless?

Maybe world events have stolen your optimism and made you afraid. Or perhaps your hopelessness comes from a much closer source—a chronic illness or a frightening diagnosis. A loved one who is far from God. A difficult marriage. A crushing financial situation.

As Christians, we know we have a source of hope far greater than feel-good psychology or positive self-talk. But sometimes we forget.

A year ago, I decided to search for sixty biblical reasons for hope. When I began the project, I wondered if I’d be able to find sixty. By the time I finished, I wished I’d searched for a hundred. Or a thousand.

I discovered our reasons for hope in God are as limitless as God Himself. As wide as the sky. As deep as the ocean. As solid as bedrock.

On January 3, Our Daily Bread Publishing will release the results of my search: Refresh Your Hope, 60 Devotions for Trusting God with All Your Heart. On its pages you’ll read real-life stories and biblical truth that will strengthen your faith and point you to the God of all Hope.

Meet Paige

As a sample of what you’ll read on its pages, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Paige Snedeker. Paige embodies hope that transcends suffering. You’ll marvel at the grace that oozes out of her life, and if I’ve done my job well, you’ll feel hope rising in your heart.

I’d be honored if you’d purchase a copy of Refresh Your Hope, 60 Devotions for Trusting God with All Your Heart. And while you’re clicking, why not order a second copy to give to a friend? The only thing better than feeling hopeful is sharing that hope with someone else. Ask God to show you who can benefit most from a fresh infusion of hope.

Let’s make 2023 the Year of Hope.

Blessings,

Lori

Suffering Can Display God’s Glory

Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

John 9:3

Before I met Paige, I saw what folks lovingly call “her entourage.” Four women—three interpreters and her mom as her nurse—clustered around a motorized wheelchair as it rolled into my classroom. At the helm was a dark-haired girl with a vibrant smile. A trach tube connected to a portable respirator transported air to her lungs. An interpreter relayed my greeting using sign language.

“Hi, Paige. I’m glad you’re here.”

Paige mouthed the words, and her interpreter repeated them. “Thank you, I’m glad to be here.”

“Glad to be here” pretty much sums up Paige’s perspective on life. As young children, Paige and her older twin brothers could walk, talk, hear, and see. In early childhood, the boys began to exhibit strange and alarming symptoms—unexplained stumbling and difficulty breathing.

One twin, David, went into respiratory arrest. He was hospitalized and put on a ventilator, a trach, and a G-tube for nutrition. Soon after, Paige began to exhibit similar symptoms. Extensive testing yielded no answers, and at age 15, David died. Tyson and Paige became wheelchair bound, profoundly deaf, legally blind, and totally dependent. Although their speech is often unintelligible except to those closest to them, they speak through interpreters who read their lips.

Twenty-seven years of testing recently yielded a diagnosis. Tyson and Paige suffer from Riboflavin Transporter Deficiency Type 2, a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by paralysis of the cranial nerves, sensorineural deafness, and damage to other nerves.

I met Paige when she attended the public speaking workshop I taught at a Christian writers conference. She came to my class because she wanted to hone her communication skills and learn how to be a better witness for Christ.

Paige’s disability makes the congenital blindness of the man in John 9 seem trivial. Yet in first century Israel, to be born blind was to forsake forever the hope of a normal life. Unable to work a trade, marry, or support a family, the man likely was begging outside the synagogue when Jesus found him.

The disciples, assuming such a profound disability must surely be God’s judgment, asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus’ response shocked them all. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (v. 3).

Christ’s answer not only destroyed the assumption that suffering only comes as a consequence of sin, it dared to suggest God had not only allowed the blind man’s disability, He orchestrated it.

In essence Jesus said, “The last 40 years of this man’s life—the physical challenges, the emotional heartbreak, and the cultural shunning—haven’t been a mistake. They’ve been an intentional part of my plan to display my works to the world through him.”

With His words, Christ not only redeemed the man’s blindness, He exalted it. His blindness wasn’t a sad twist of fate or the cruel act of a cold-hearted God. It was designed by a loving God to be the velvet backdrop on which to display His sparkling grace, mercy, and power.

Author, speaker, and disability advocate Joni Earekson Tada said,

“God deliberately chooses weak, suffering, and unlikely candidates to get His work done, so that in the end, the glory goes to God and not to the person.”

Joni earekson Tada

As the disciples did, Paige admits to asking God questions. “After all my trials, and my back surgery, and my trach, I asked God, ‘Why did you take everything away from me?’ I used to be able to walk, and talk, and breathe on my own.”

In a flash of insight, she realized she and the man born blind shared a common purpose. “I am here for God’s glory.” At the age of seventeen, Paige surrendered her life to Christ.

She admits that up to that point, she’d lived focused on herself. “I was selfish. I wanted to do all the fun things.” But everything changed that day. “I knew God had chosen me for His purpose. I really want to serve God now.”

And serve Him she does. With the help of a nurse and an art teacher, Paige has written and illustrated two children’s books spotlighting the hope, joy, and unique purpose she embraces. She advocates for people with disabilities, encourages audiences to chase their dreams, and inspires others to see themselves as God sees them.

Centuries ago, Jesus displayed His power and affirmed His deity by healing the blind man. Paige knows her ultimate healing may not come until she meets God in eternity. Nevertheless, she’s determined to make the most of every day God gives her. “I want to spend my time on earth serving the Lord as long as I live,” she said. Like the blind man, she points others to Jesus and testifies of the great work He has done in her life.

Take Heart

When we know God has ordained our trials to display His good works through us, we can rise above our pain and offer our lives to Him to use as He sees fit.

From the Heart

Thank you, kind Father, for the assurance from John 9 that suffering isn’t random or meaningless. You ordain it as a privilege and intend it as an opportunity to glorify you. Give me courage, strength, and faith to steward the gift of suffering well. In my pain, help me never shame or disparage you. Instead, help me lean into your grace. Help me embrace the life you give me and maximize every opportunity to point others to you. In the name of our precious Savior, who suffered so much for me, amen.

Refresh Your Hope is available for preorder now on Amazon and ChristianBook.com and will be shipped in time for the new year. Wouldn’t it make the perfect Christmas gift for yourself and everyone you know who’s fighting for hope?