Quotes from Joni Eareckson Tada

Thats what I love about serving God. In His eyes, there are no little people...because there are no big people. We are all on the same playing field

One of the most wonderful things about knowing God is that there's always so much more to know, so much more to discover. Just when we least expect it, He intrudes into our neat and tidy notions about who He is and how He works.

Heartache forces us to embrace God out of desparate, urgent need. God is never closer than when your heart is aching.

There is nothing that moves a loving father's soul quite like his child's cry.

we will stand amazed to see the topside of the tapestry and how God beautifully embroidered each circumstance into a pattern for our good and His glory.

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

Maybe the truly handicapped people are the ones that don't need God as much.

The Psalms wrap nouns and verbs around our pain better than any other book.

Contentment ... has an internal quietness of heart that gladly submits to God in all circumstances.

Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.

Jesus went without comfort so that you might have it. He postponed joy so that you might share in it. He willingly chose isolation so that you might never be alone in your hurt and sorrow. He had no real fellowship so that fellowship might be yours, this moment. This alone is enough cause for great gratitude!

Only God is capable of telling us what our rights and needs are. You have to surrender that right to Him.

Deny your weakness, and you will never realize God's strength in you.

The truth of the matter is, Satan and God may want the exact same event to take place - but for different reasons. Satan's motive in Jesus' crucifixion was rebellion; God's motive was love and mercy. Satan was a secondary cause behind the Crucifixion, but it was God who ultimately wanted it, willed it, and allowed Satan to carry it out. And the same holds true for disease.

AS a matter of fact, God isn't asking you to be thankful. He's asking you to give thanks. There's a big difference. One response involves emotions, the other your choices, your decisions about a situation, your intent, your 'step of faith.

We rant and rave against God for the evil we have to endure but hardly blink at the evil in our own hearts.

Subdue your heart to match your circumstances.

The weaker I am, the harder I must lean on God's grace; the harder I lean on him, the stronger I discover him to be, and the bolder my testimony to his grace.

True wisdom is found in trusting God when you can't figure things out.

This paralysis is my greatest mercy.7

I wished God were like He used to be, a few notches lower. I wanted Him to be lofty enough to help me but not so uncontrollable. I longed for His warm presence, times when He seemed more… safe.

The more righteous God appeared, the more resentful I became.

My wheelchair was the key to seeing all this happen—especially since God's power always shows up best in weakness. So here I sit … glad that I have not been healed on the outside, but glad that I have been healed on the inside. Healed from my own self-centered wants and wishes.

Joni discovered the best way to put the halter on her horse without being animal resisting and fleeing was to turn her back until he nuzzled up to her. At that point, she could slip the halter on. Just so, she surmises, sometimes God waits for us to turn our backs on what we desire most and to trust Him.