The word of the Lord came to me saying,

               “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you,
                before you were born, I set you apart;
                I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, I do not know how to speak, I am too young.”

Obviously, Jeremiah is not feeling confident. Have you ever felt like this? God tells you he’s got something for you to do – something bigger than you’ve ever done before – and you can’t imagine being good enough, clever enough, strong enough. You might ask, “How could a person like me accomplish anything of value?”

But God tells Jeremiah that he has a plan for him – even before he was born. That’s hard to understand, but it’s true. And it’s true for us today as well. His plan for us might not be as big as being a prophet like God was appointing Jeremiah. But he does have a plan for us too.

Nick Vujicic has shown this to be true. Nick was born without arms or legs because of a rare congenital disorder. Can you imagine what his days must be like? Getting out of bed, getting dressed, having breakfast?

But after a childhood of bullying and thoughts of suicide, he is now one of the best motivational speakers, changing thousands of lives. He wouldn’t be able to do this if he weren’t able to show how his faith has affected his difficult life.

God can bring power and strength to you too, despite your health issues. We have a great God. Through him, we can do much – big things, little things. He has a plan for each of us to make our community and our world a better place.

Have you ever had dreams of doing something exciting, only to discard them, thinking they would be too much effort? Maybe you feel you’re too busy.

But what if you were to make time to try activities that would end up giving your life greater meaning than it now has? Many don’t realize that by turning away opportunities, they might, in effect, be disobeying God. When you feel a strong urge to do something, it could very well be God’s call on you.

There are many who have found ways to serve God despite handicaps. In fact, Jesus said, “for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Sometimes we who deal with illness can be there for others in ways not possible for those who are healthy.

We are of great worth to God. What might he have had in mind when he created you?

I encourage you to look at this video. Nick Vujicic will inspire you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qohlZKIgMbk

marja