By Carmen Nagel
LWML Special Ministries Committee Chairman
Jesus sees you and knows your limitations—failing eyesight, hearing loss, learning challenges, and aging. Limitations are debilitating, and at times, bring you to your knees, and yet He still calls you to reach out in love.
It is written in Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV), “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” That is God’s assurance and sweet promise that whatever life circumstances you may be facing, He has plans for you.
God promises His presence. “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save,” (Isaiah 46:4 ESV). Age or health challenges do not prevent you from being in God’s Word or serving others.
Think of the gifts you bring to those around you: wisdom, experience, and patience. Give thanks for your current state, look forward to the next window of life to open, and seek the next opportunity to serve. Be open for opportunities to tell of the love of Jesus! Love for the Lord never ages. It just grows and enables us to share more!
But you may ask, “How, Lord, with my limitations?” Look at your hands. What do you see—wrinkles, thin skin, twisted knuckles, or empty hands? Whatever you see, Jesus says in Matthew 28:20 (ESV), “I am with you always.” The Lord fills your hands with the gift of life and salvation to share with ALL. In Christ, your hands are filled with all you need to help others, to pray for others, and to comfort someone by holding a hand.
The Lord bids us ALL to come to Him with empty hands and an open heart, and He will give us ALL we need to share Jesus. “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength,” (Isaiah 40:29 ESV).
The Lord will fill our empty hands with forgiveness, and we will say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” (Psalm 51:10 ESV).
Be encouraged to hold fast to God’s Word, learn from Him through worship and Bible study, and look to the Lord for His strength to fill each of your days.