A STEP FURTHER

I just flipped to the page to admire the little pen and ink drawing I rendered of a vacant wheelchair. An empty chair sure is a welcome thought! More than thirty-five years have passed since the diving accident in which I became paralyzed and more than twenty-five years have passed since I did that sketch. I longed for heaven then and I yearn for it now.

Nor so much because of my wheelchair. Three-and-a-half decades of quadriplegia and almost as many years of studying God’s Word has taught me that, with God’s grace, I can be content without the use of my hands or legs. No, my yearnings for heaven aren’t self-focused as much as they are centered on others who suffer.

Joni and Friends is a ministry I have led since 1979 and in my travels around the world, I have met thousands of people who are struggling with affliction and wrestling against depression. These men and women and boys and girls deal with blindness, paralysis, death, disease and divorce. They live in Baltimore and Beijing, Minneapolis and Moscow. Many of them are godly saints who, although they have unequivocally placed their confidence in Christ, must still daily wipe away their tears for the heartache of it all. It is these hurting people who accentuate my longing for Heaven.

Oh, to read that one day “He will wipe every tear from their eyes” and “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” After writing about so much suffering, little wonder Steve Estes and I ended A Step Further with the words of our Savior in Revelation 22:20,
“Yes, I am coming soon.”

A Step Further has lifted the sights and encouraged the weak hearts of hundreds of thousands or readers throughout the world for almost twenty-five years. This little book more than just a further step in the sharing of my life with you, including the struggles and lessons, downfalls and victories. When Steve Estes and I authored this book, we believe it to be a defense, a proof for the goodness of God. It is a personal and authoritative statement on why you too can trust and obey God, not in spite of your hardships, but because of them. Believe me, I am not boasting-my personal story is not that which has impact, but the Word of God. It is the marvelous biblical principles surrounding suffering which have the power to change your life.

A father who lost his son in a brutal murder once wrote me, “Joni, I used to have a million questions for God and no answers. I still don’t have all the answers, but you know what? I don’t have any more questions. Knowing Him is enough.”

It is my prayer that you can say the same in the midst of your heartaches and hardships. Steve Estes and I wish to thank you for journeying with us through these pages. May the timeless insights in A Step Further lift your spirits as you place your hand of trust in the One who holds all answers.

Joni Eareckson Tada, 2001

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