I recently watched a YouTube video of a young man skateboarding, golfing, swimming, playing an instrument, and holding his baby son. You might be thinking, You need to get a life. Why would you waste your time watching a guy do such ordinary, everyday activities?
I did it for the same reason that four million other people watched the video. Nick Vujicic has no arms. And he has no legs. So, when he zips around on his skateboard with no legs, and with no arms uses a driver to hit a golf ball or play an instrument or hold his baby son –well, I sit up and take notice.
An interviewer asked Nick, ““Why do you think so many millions of people like watching that video?”
“I believe people are drawn to it because despite my physical limitations, I’m living as though I have no limits,” Nick replied. “People often expect someone with a severe disability to be inactive, maybe even angry and withdrawn. I like to surprise them by showing that I lead a very adventurous and fulfilling existence.”
Are you leading an adventurous and fulfilling existence, like Nick? Or have you let limitations hold you back from envisioning the possibilities and stepping out of your comfort zone to pursue a dream?
Nick Vujicic had far more reasons than most of us to focus on what he didn’t have, rather than what he could become through his faith in Jesus Christ. If anyone had reason to pull back, make excuses, and focus on his disabilities, it was Nick. He had lots of reasons to blame God. And he had lots of reasons to feel victimized by circumstances out of his control.
When he was a child and teenager, Nick did battle negative thoughts and attitudes. He struggled with loneliness and depression. He constantly wondered why he was different than all the other kids. He questioned the purpose of life, or if he even had a purpose.
“There was a time in my life when I said I can’t do this, and I can’t do that,” Nick says. “And you get to a point when all you are concentrating on is what you don’t have rather than what you do have.”
He reached a point where he decided to stop focusing on his disabilities and start focusing on what God had given him. He chose to see himself as created with exactly the body that God designed for him. And if God made him that way, then having no arms or legs couldn’t stand in the way of living a full and purposeful life.
The result? His very disabilities – the things he lacked that most of us take for granted – became the very things that launched a world-wide platform for sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And since his first speaking engagement at age 19, Nick has traveled all around the world, sharing his story with tens of millions of people, speaking to a range of diverse groups such as students, teachers, young people, business professionals and church congregations of all sizes. Already, this young evangelist has accomplished more than most people achieve in a lifetime.
What about you? How do you see yourself? Do you see your strengths, talents and abilities? Or do you find yourself constantly belittle yourself about your weaknesses and flaws?
Do you wish God made you differently? Do you wish you had a different personality, a different body, a different spouse, a different family background? Do you feel ripped off by the past or present circumstances in your life?
If so, it’s time to let go. It’s time to stop focusing on what you lack. It’s not what we have, or don’t have, that makes the difference. It’s the blessing of God on what we have. It’s the power of our God. It’s the presence of God. It’s the faithfulness of God. That’s what makes the difference.
One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13-14)
