A newspaper columnist in Georgia wrote an article on the trials many famous people have had to overcome. Here are few stories he shared.
“An artist in Mexico lost his right hand while working on a statue. But he did not give up his work. He learned to carve with his left hand. His beautifully finished masterpiece was called ‘In Spite Of.’”
“A sound body, a brilliant mind, a cultural background, a huge amount of money, a wonderful education—none of these guarantee success. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery. Thomas Edison was deaf. Abraham Lincoln was born of illiterate parents. Lord Byron had a club foot. Robert Louis Stevenson had tuberculosis. Alexander Pope was a hunchback. Admiral Nelson had only one eye. Julius Caesar was an epileptic. But these men made history in spite of their handicaps. And there was Louis Pasteur, so near-sighted that he had a difficult time finding his way in his laboratory without glasses. There was Helen Keller, who could not hear or see, but who graduated with honors from a famous college.”
He then concluded, “Got a handicap? Call on the Lord. No problem is too big for Him, or too small. He will make everything ‘work together for good’—if you trust Him.”
Dr. Paul Chappell wrote this in response to that article:” When God made you, He didn’t make you perfect. Even if you have all your abilities and seem perfect on the outside, inside us all are flaws and limitations. We are weak to sin’s temptations; we neglect God’s commands; and we struggle to daily spend time with Him. But one flaw most Christians have is a lack of faith in God.—-
Imagine if Moses would have allowed his speech impediment keep him from obeying God. What if Gideon had allowed his fear to keep him from fighting the Midianites? Or what if Paul had allowed his thorn in the flesh to discourage him from witnessing about Christ? How would history have changed?
There have always been obstacles and limitations people have had to overcome to accomplish great things. The Christian life is no different. None of us are perfect, but God still wants to use us. Don’t allow a lack of faith or other limitations to keep you from following God. Trust that He will guide you and then step out in faith in spite of your limitations today.”
