In 1820, a six-week-old girl was given the wrong medication for her eyes. As a result she became permanently blind. She was doomed to a life of darkness. Her parent’s dreams were shattered. The joy of having a newborn child was transformed to agony and despair. Her life was destined to be empty and meaningless. She would exist, but her existence would have little joy and prove to hold no value to the world. Or would it?
Instead of suing the doctor who made the mistake her parents determined to focus on doing all they could to help their little girl. Her grandmother deeply loved her, and gave her the two most important things in her life – Jesus Christ and constant Biblical training. As a child she was often found in her grandmother’s arms and a rocking chair hearing the Songs of Solomon. The little girl literally absorbed Scripture. It is said that she could recite correctly the first four books of both Testaments by age ten.
When given schoolwork she loved all her studies except one and concerning it she wrote:
I loathe, abhor, it makes me sick,
To hear the word, Arithmetic!
She romped about as did her playmates, climbing fences and trees, riding horses, and playing with pets. She loved the outdoors – the wind, the sunshine, thunder, the songs of birds, flowers and brooks.
This little girl did not allow her handicap to become an excuse. She did not spend her time throwing a pity party and inviting everyone to cry with her and bemoan her sad circumstances. In fact she actually came to believe that her handicap was a blessing instead of a curse. She committed herself to taking the gifts and talents she did have and using them to excel in service to God.
She was only eight years old when she wrote her first poem. It read:
Oh what a happy soul am I
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
Contended I will be.
She would later become the first woman ever to speak from the floor of the Senate in Washington D.C. When she gave her testimony in meetings, her listeners would sit in awe as she lifted their spiritual eyes to Christ. By the time of her death, she had written about 9000 hymns and gospel songs. More people have probably come to know Jesus Christ as their Savior under the influence of her songs than by any other song-writer. Her name was Frances Jane Crosby, better known as Fanny Crosby.
This blind woman wrote, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of Salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, This is my song, praising the Savior all the day long”.
If you are unsaved today, what is your excuse? Are you convinced that God has not treated you right? Does everyone else get all the breaks? Is life just not fair? Maybe you have said you will serve God - when He heals your back, leg, arm, eyes or whatever ailment you suffer under, or when He delivers you from your sickness (cancer, heart disease, aids, etc). You could do great things for God if he would have given you better circumstances, perhaps different parents or different neighborhood to live in, or perhaps a different job. Then maybe it would not be so difficult for you to serve Him.
And dear saints, what is our excuse for doing so little for the Lord? Do we tend to say, “Well if I weren’t so handicapped with this situation or that circumstance, I could do more for the Lord.” Isn’t it really a matter of discovering our ministry and putting it to work for Christ diligently, daily, all our life? And whatever handicap we may have, rather than looking at it as a hindrance, shouldn’t we seek to discover what doors it might open for us to serve God?
Fanny wrote these famous words, “Rescue the Perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave, weep o’re the erring one, lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus mighty to save, Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”
Shouldn’t we be ashamed if we find ourselves discontented with our portion in life? “Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay…” (Rom. 9:20, 21). This is one of the greatest lessons of life to learn. Oh, if only we could accept our God appointed lot in life and realize that He will take us and make us vessels of honor if we will just quit seeking to be a different vessel, or waiting for better circumstances in life.
One time a preacher sympathetically remarked to Fanny Crosby, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the astonished clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!" What a wonderful attitude, and a humbling one for those of us who complain about our lot in life! Fanny did not become bitter, she became better!
She wrote “When my life-work is ended, and I cross the swelling tide, When the bright and glorious morning I shall see, I shall know my Redeemer when I reach the other side, And His smile will be the first to welcome me. I shall know Him. I shall know Him, And redeemed by His side I shall stand. I shall know Him, I shall know Him by the print of the nails in His hand”
Fanny Crosby entered what was then known as the New York Institution for the Blind at the age of fifteen and afterward taught English and history (1847-58). As a pupil and as a teacher, Fanny spent 35 years at the school. She was often asked to entertain visitors with her poems and she frequently met with presidents, generals and other dignitaries. She played a hymn at President Grant's Funeral. Who would have thought a little blind six-week old baby would someday be used so marvelously?
It is said that Fanny Crosby "set more hearts and voices to praising God than any other woman who ever lived" – possible because she sang more songs of hope than any other human being.
Other famous hymns she wrote contained heart moving lyrics:
Near the Cross – In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever, till my raptured soul shall find, rest beyond the river.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness, Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word, tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. Tell how the angels in chorus, sang as they welcomed His birth, Glory to God in the highest, peace and good tiding to earth. Tell me the story of Jesus, Write on my heart every word, Tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard.
A multitude of souls have been blessed by the following wonderful songs:
I am thine O Lord, I have heard Thy voice, and it told of Thy love to me, But I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To the cross where Thou hast died; Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, To Thy precious bleeding side.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand, and covers me there with His hand.
Fanny Crosby said, "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me." She also wrote:
To God be The Glory, Great things he hath done, so loved He the world that He gave us His Son, Who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the Life-gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus, the Son, and give Him the glory – great things He hath done.
Redeemed how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb! Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever I am. Redeemed, redeemed, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; Redeemed, redeemed, His child and forever I am.
At the age of 95 Fanny Crosby passed on and on her grave in Bridgeport, Conn., there is a simple little headstone with the name "Aunt Fanny," and these words:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.
Many of God’s great men and women have had “handicaps.” In the Word of God we read of Jacob, who was on his way to what appeared to be an unhappy meeting with his brother, Esau. Years before, he had taken advantage of Esau in a time of great hunger and bought Esau’s birthright with a bowl of pottage. Later, he deceived his father and obtained the blessing that would have been given to Esau. Now some twenty years later he must face Esau, who was approaching with 400 men. Jacob sought God in prayer for deliverance and spent the night wrestling with an angel. He wrestled until he won the victory.
No wonder so few get real, lasting victory today. The altar is treated like a fast food restaurant. If it doesn’t come in five minutes people give up and leave. Many do not want victory enough to pray until they have prevailed!
During the struggle the angel injured Jacob’s thigh, and afterward, Jacob “halted upon his thigh”; he walked with a strong limp. Jacob’s limp was a reminder of his success in prayer, and of his constant dependency upon God. What a testimony Jacob had from that day forward, “…for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed…”(Gen. 32:28). Carnal men may focus on the limp if they wish. Spiritual men will look beyond the limp and focus on the gifts of God that far outweigh the infirmity, and bring divine power into their service for God.
Jacob now prevailed, not only with God, but with man. When he faced his brother who hated him and was bent on killing him, God melted his brother’s heart. Instead of harming Jacob, “…Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept” (Gen. 33:4).
God’s strength is made perfect in weakness. No wonder Apostle Paul proclaimed, “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9). Paul did not let his weaknesses become an excuse to have a pity party, but rather he learned to trust in God’s strength to make up for those infirmities.
Moses was another “handicapped” person. He was low of speech, not eloquent, and perhaps stuttered. His weakness no doubt played a role in keeping him humble before God. Not many people have been used to turn water into blood, bring death to the first-born of the enemies of God’s people, and part the Red Sea so God’s people could pass through on dry land. His speech impediment probably served the same purpose as the Apostle Paul’s thorn in the flesh. It was given, “…lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations” (2 Cor. 12:&). How gracious is our God, how immeasurable is His love, that He would allow infirmities in the flesh to come upon us in order to make us mighty in spirit!
What’s your excuse, dear friend? Isn’t it time we praise God for our “handicap” in life instead of using it as an excuse? Successful Christians are those who understand that if God has chosen to make us weak in one area of our life, it is so He can magnify Himself through that weakness and make our service to Him far stronger than it could have ever been had we not been “handicapped”.
The world is still waiting for you and I to march forth with the gospel of true salvation. God is waiting, ready to make his strength perfect in the midst of our weaknesses. Oh, that we would cast away our excuses, glory in our infirmities, and let the power of Christ rest upon us! The world is to be evangelized with the full gospel of The Church of God! Let’s purge ourselves of our excuses, and give our best to get the work done. Amen.
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