Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty

It is hard to believe that this amazing woman who is paralysed from her neck down since her teenage years, has achieved so very much in her life and has been such an inspiration and help to so many people in her life. I have no doubt that she would not have been able to do this were she not a real Christian. Now after over 40 years in a wheel chair and in immense pain she longs for the total healing she will receive when she passes from this life and goes to heaven - and she has no doubt at all that is where she is going. That she has managed to write this inspiring and informative book at this time of her life while suffering immense physical pain, is a miracle in itself. Does she feel sorry for herself? No! Is she asking for sympathy? No! She is a gifted and talented woman. Is this book depressing? No! It is a powerful, encouraging book which I think everyone should read. All of us who are able bodied take so much for granted and still conplain in life. How often are we grateful for all that we have - physically, emotionally and spiritually? How many of us are prepared for the hereafter? As some people say, there is one thing none of us can escape - and that is death! Be prepared for it! If you are feeling depressed and hard-done-by in life - read this book! You will never be the same again. It is so inspiring and I congratulate Joni on the wonderful example she has been during her life and for writing this wonderful book.

This is such a great book. Joni doesn’t sugar coat anything, but guides the reader right to Biblical truth and direction about how to walk with God through suffering. She’s a great writer, so it’s enjoyable to read. It’s much like having a conversation with a friend! I have recommended this book to several friends already, as it applies to any kind of suffering.

For over 50 years I have pastored and counseled hurting, suffering and disappointed people who have struggled with faith and doubt issues and vacillated between, these two extremes. Joni's book, "A Place of Healing", is one of the most practical, Scriptural, and easy-to-read and understand books on healing I have ever read. She writes with heart-felt compassion and practical wisdom derived from her own physical pain and handicap condition. The reader will find enlightenment, encouragement, and derive increased faith from these pages. I highly recommend and urge all God's people who have questions regarding physical healing, prayer and disappointment to read Joni's book. The result will be life-changing.

A Place of Healing is Joni's look at suffering in light of God's sovereignty and goodness. If you are unfamiliar with Joni, she is a quadriplegic who has been used by God to minister to many since her diving accident led to her paralysis. As I was struggling with this issue I wanted to hear counsel from someone who had endured suffering. That being said, I trust the Scriptures an infinite times more than I do someone's experience, so I wanted someone who would open the Word of God and deal with the issue with Scripture as the key focus. I was not disappointed with this book or with Mrs. Eareckson Tada's counsel. Joni begins the book by giving a report of what is going on in her life at the time of writing. Her paralysis persists, but not she is enduring chronic pain. She deals with this to let the reader know where she is coming from, writing from the midst of a battle, but also to lead into the main question we face when we see suffering and worship a good God. Why? Not only the why question of suffering's existence, which can be easily seen from Scripture, but the why question of suffering in the life of a child of God who sincerely and faithfully seeks God's healing. Joni recounts an experience she had on a televangelist's program in which she was blindsided with a critique of her faith and the fact that she remained unhealed because of sin in her life and a lack of faith. This causes Joni pain, but coupled with a search of Scripture leads her to a realization that is important for us all to understand and accept, "(h)ere is what I believe: God reserves the right to heal or not ... as He sees fit." This is key! Without this, we will struggle with this issue unnecessarily and in a manner that will not lead to growth in holiness and faith, but rather doubt and despair. God is God and we are not and He will do what He chooses to do. the fact is I only know so much, I only understand so much, I only see so much, and I only grasp so much of what I do see. With Paul, I sometimes have to cry out, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Rom. 11:33). Not long ago, the words of this old hymn drifted into my mind: I am not skilled to understand What God has willed, what God has planned; I only know at His right hand, Stands One who is my Savior!1 Ah, there are many things that God has revealed--things I do know and understand. But there are many more things that He has not chosen to reveal yet and may not reveal this side of heaven. And one of those things is why He sometimes chooses to step in and supernaturally heal one person and not another. We have to be ok with the truth that God is God. We have to be ok with the fact that He works things how He sees fit and that He is all-wise, all-loving and the definition of good. Will this convince an unbeliever while they wrestle with suffering in the world and the truth-claims of Christianity? Probably not. But really the only thing that will work in that situation is the regenerating power of God's Holy Spirit anyway. What this does do is remind me, a born-again believer in Christ, that He is good. And He is in control. And I can rest in that. Chapter 4 is entitled "What Benefit Is There to My Pain?". This chapter is an amazing read. Joni works through the benefits of suffering and how a good God uses suffering for the good of those who love Him and for His own glory. She goes over multiple points including how suffering can turn us from a dangerous/deadly path, how suffering increases our desire for Christ, how suffering reminds us of our frailty and weakness and how God can use suffering to make us more fruitful. Joni then gives a few detailed examples of how God has used her and the ministry He started with her called Joni and Friends to minister to, love on, reach out to and lead to the salvation of many who Joni would not have been able to reach without her paralysis. It is an amazing reminder of how suffering exists in the life of a believer so that they may be ministers of hope, healing and grace. Joni spends the remainder of the book speaking to those who suffer and encouraging them on how they can endure and how they can bring glory to God through all of it. She also spends more time looking at some testimonials of how God has used her paralysis to bring glory to Himself and lost people to salvation. This is a greatly encouraging, greatly challenging book and it was a pleasure to read. I praise God for what He has done and continues to do through the life and work of His Son found in the life and work of Joni and her friends.

I have never heard of Joni until this year. I feel like I've missed out a lot by not having followed her journey. This book is very well written. It made me laugh, cry, and think about how I handle my own sufferings. It is deep and profound and very inspiring - not in a sugar coated way, but in a battlefield warrior way. The mistake I made was that I started reading it at 11 pm because I needed something to help me fall asleep. If you are looking for such a book, this is not it. I couldn't put it down. You can finish it in one sitting as it is very easy to read. BUT I wouldn't read it in one sitting. This is a book that would make you think about God's grace even in the midst of suffering. It is a book that talks about the author's suffering and how she manages to see it as a gift from our Almighty God. This book will inspire you to love the sovereignty of God. I highly recommend it to everyone - handicap and able bodies alike.

Joni's writings have inspired and encouraged many who battle with disabilities and pain, as well as those who don't but who care about those who do. In this book she sets out an answer to the question of whether God wills to heal all who come to Him with faith. This is a thorny issue, but it is a delight to see it so clearly and thoughtfully handled by one so qualified to speak. The subtitle: wrestling with the mysteries of suffering, pain and God's sovereignty might put some off, but it shouldn't. Here is clear teaching, great testimony, heartfelt honesty and remarkable faith.

Excellent as are all Joni's books; not afraid to deal with the hard issues and very scripturally sound

Very helpful book

This came to me as I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and got a real fright at the thought of not being able to use my hands. Well, since, I have started treatment, and I have good days as well as bad days, but mostly I have learnt to have grateful days every day!! An excellent encourager when one sees only the dark and not the light at the end of the tunnel.

This book seems to me to have been very well researched and the difficult issues deeply thought through by someone who is well placed to speak on the subject of healing, pain, and faith. You may not agree with everything Joni says, but her views and thoughts are strongly backed up by scripture and she draws on other writers as well. She deals with the tough questions of why some are healed and some not, the sovereign will and plans of God that we don't perhaps always understand and keeping the faith. You'll cry in parts and rejoice in others. If you have questions, or know others who have, about healing and faith - read this book!