A year ago, I decided to search for sixty biblical reasons for hope. When I began the project, I wondered if I\u2019d be able to find sixty. By the time I finished, I wished I\u2019d searched for a hundred. Or a thousand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/em>.<\/a> On its pages you\u2019ll read real-life stories and biblical truth that will strengthen your faith and point you to the God of all Hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a sample of what you\u2019ll read on its pages, I\u2019d like to introduce you to my friend Paige Snedeker<\/a>. Paige embodies hope that transcends suffering. You\u2019ll marvel at the grace that oozes out of her life, and if I\u2019ve done my job well, you\u2019ll feel hope rising in your heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d be honored if you\u2019d purchase a copy of Refresh Your Hope, 60 Devotions for Trusting God with All Your Heart<\/em>. <\/a>And while you\u2019re 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessings,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lori<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John 9:3<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Before I met Paige, I saw what folks lovingly call \u201cher entourage.\u201d <\/strong>Four women\u2014three interpreters and her mom as her nurse\u2014clustered 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHi, Paige. I\u2019m glad you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paige mouthed the words, and her interpreter repeated them. \u201cThank you, I\u2019m glad to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGlad to be here\u201d pretty much sums up Paige\u2019s perspective on life.<\/strong> 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\u2014unexplained stumbling and difficulty breathing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twenty-seven years of testing recently yielded a diagnosis.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I met Paige<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paige\u2019s disability makes the congenital blindness of the man in John 9 seem trivial. <\/strong>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The disciples, assuming such a profound disability must surely be God\u2019s judgment, asked Jesus, \u201cWho sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a>Jesus\u2019 response shocked them all. \u201cNeither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him<\/em>\u201d (v. 3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ\u2019s answer not only destroyed the assumption that suffering only comes as a consequence of sin,<\/strong> it dared to suggest God had not only allowed<\/em> the blind man\u2019s disability, He orchestrated<\/em> it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In essence Jesus said, \u201cThe last 40 years of this man\u2019s life\u2014the physical challenges, the emotional heartbreak, and the cultural shunning\u2014haven\u2019t been a mistake. They\u2019ve been an intentional part of my plan to display my works to the world through him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With His words, Christ not only redeemed the man\u2019s blindness, He exalted it. His blindness wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Author, speaker, and disability advocate Joni Earekson Tada said,<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod 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.\u201d<\/p>Joni earekson Tada<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n As the disciples did, Paige admits to asking God questions. \u201cAfter all my trials, and my back surgery, and my trach, I asked God, \u2018Why did you take everything away from me?\u2019 I used to be able to walk, and talk, and breathe on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a flash of insight, she realized she and the man born blind shared a common purpose. \u201cI am here for God\u2019s glory.\u201d At the age of seventeen, Paige surrendered her life to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She admits that up to that point, she\u2019d lived focused on herself. \u201cI was selfish. I wanted to do all the fun things.\u201d But everything changed that day. \u201cI knew God had chosen me for His purpose. I really want to serve God now.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And serve Him she does. With the help of a nurse and an art teacher, Paige has written and illustrated two children\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Centuries ago, Jesus displayed His power and affirmed His deity by healing the blind man.<\/strong> Paige knows her ultimate healing may not come until she meets God in eternity. Nevertheless, she\u2019s determined to make the most of every day God gives her. \u201cI want to spend my time on earth serving the Lord as long as I live,\u201d she said. Like the blind man, she points others to Jesus and testifies of the great work He has done in her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you, kind Father, for the assurance from John 9 that suffering isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Refresh Your Hope<\/a><\/em> is available for preorder now on Amazon<\/a> and ChristianBook.com<\/a> and will be shipped in time for the new year. Wouldn\u2019t it make the perfect Christmas gift for yourself and everyone you know who\u2019s fighting for hope?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2014a 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,37,82,1],"tags":[389,105,5,387,385,11,390,65,275,384,388,386],"class_list":["post-1434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-christian-living","category-family","category-uncategorized","tag-finding-hope-with-a-disability","tag-hope","tag-how-to-hear-gods-voice","tag-john-93","tag-joni-earekson-tada","tag-lori-hatcher","tag-paige-snedeker","tag-refresh-blog","tag-refresh-your-hope","tag-suffering","tag-why-does-god-allow-handicaps","tag-why-god-allows-suffering"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Paige<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s make 2023 the Year of Hope.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Suffering Can Display God\u2019s Glory<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTake Heart<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From the Heart<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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