Living with some type of physical disability in the U.S.A.

About 1-in-5 people in the USA live with some type of physical disability; 10 million people a year experience a serious mental illness; and 1-in-6 Americans struggle with chronic health conditions, leading to roughly 65 million Americans providing care for someone with a disability or chronic illness.

[See Bible Gateway Blog post: Tyndale to Release Beyond Suffering Bible]

Suffering always prompts heart-wrenching questions: if God is good, why would He allow this pain in my life? Is God truly sovereign over accidents and birth anomalies, or does the devil set the world’s agenda? How do I counsel people who are despairing of their condition? What are the right choices when it comes to assisted-suicide and other tough ethical issues? For that matter, where does a person struggling with a life-altering accident or illness find peace of mind and a purpose for living? 

says singer, artist, radio host, and bestselling author Joni Eareckson Tada, one of the the experts at Joni and Friends Christian Institute on Disability which publishes the first Bible with study notes that address the topics of disability and suffering. The new Beyond Suffering Bible (website) will release from Joni and Friends and Tyndale House Publishers this October. It’s a combination of both a study Bible and a devotional Bible, with knowledge and insight gleaned from the Scriptures, as well as encouraging words from a wide array of top Christian experts who are often the “go-to” resources when people are looking for direction or next steps when ministering to individuals with disabilities, pain, addiction, and suffering.

Not enough people who suffer realize that the Bible contains answers for their plight. Lots of people who might know that the answers may be there in that Book of books just don’t know where to look.

This was my story shortly after the 1967 diving accident in which I became paralyzed—even in my despair,

says Joni Eareckson Tada who continues

I knew in a vague way that the Bible held hope for me in its pages. I just didn’t know where to begin. Thankfully, God brought wise Christian friends alongside to help me discover life-transforming precepts in his Word. The Beyond Suffering Bible can be that “wise Christian friend,” helping those affected by disability grasp the goodness of God amidst critical questions about pain and hardship.

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The Beyond Suffering Bible: An Interview with Joni Eareckson Tada