ODJ: seeing it
March 29, 2011
“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him” (v.3).
READ: John 9:1-9
On December 4, 1982, a baby boy named Nicholas Vujicic was born. As he grew, Nick learned to brush his teeth, comb his hair, and dress himself each morning. Like other boys, he learned to swim, fish, and play soccer. But throughout Nick’s life there has always been one big difference between him and those around him. Nick was born with the rare Tetra-amelia disorder—he entered this world without arms or legs.
As you’d imagine, Nick’s life has had its share of pain. His defects were a shock to his parents. How could God have allowed this? Nick was teased at school. So much so, that when he was just 8 years old, he tried to drown himself in a bathtub. He prayed to God every day for a miracle, but never woke up with new limbs.
Nick’s turning point came while reading today’s highlighted Bible verse. Jesus met a man born blind, and His disciples wondered what caused the defect. “Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (John 9:1-2). According to traditional wisdom, there was no suffering without sin. Either one’s parents or the person himself had sinned, perhaps even in the womb. Jesus said that sin wasn’t the issue. This man had been born blind, He proclaimed, “so the power of God could be seen in him” (v.3).
Nick told me, “Those verses changed my life forever.” His disability has been used to reveal God’s power. Today, he travels the world as an evangelist, and it’s claimed that 200,000 people have given their lives to Jesus through his testimony.
For the blind man, the power of God was seen in him receiving his sight (v.7). For Nick, it’s seen in the lives changed through his story. “When God doesn’t give you a miracle,” Nick says, “maybe you’re the miracle God has for someone else.” —Sheridan Voysey
What is your “disability”—the thing you long for God to change in your life? How might the power of God be revealed though your weakness today?
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