There is great power in believing in your destiny. You can move mountains. My awakening to the fullness of possibilities was a gradual process. At age fifteen I heard the story of the blind man in the Gospel of John. He‘d been blind since birth， and when the followers of Jesus saw him， they asked their leader， “Who sinned， this man or his parents， that he was born blind？”
It was the same question I had asked myself. Did my parents do something wrong？ Did I do something wrong？ Why else would I have been born without arms and legs？
Jesus replied， “Neither hath this man sinned， nor his parents.” Rather， he was born blind “but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
When the blind man heard that explanation， it changed dramatically his vision of his life and the possibilities for it. You can imagine how this parable resonated with me as a teenager， so aware of being different， of being disabled， of being reliant on others. Suddenly I saw a new possibility. I was not a burden. I was not deficient. I was not being punished. I was custom-made for God’s works to be made manifest in me！
When I read that Bible verse at age fifteen， a wave of peace swept over me as I‘d never known before. I’d been questioning why I was born without limbs， but now I realized that the answer was unknowable to anyone but God. I simply had to accept that and believe in the possibilities that He would present for me.
No one knows why I was born with my disability， just as no one knew why that blind man was born with his. Jesus said it had been done so that the works of God might be revealed.
Those words gave me a sense of joy and a feeling of great strength. For the first time I realized that the fact that I couldn‘t understand why I have no limbs didn’t mean that my Creator had abandoned me. The blind man was healed to serve His purpose. I wasn‘t healed， but my purpose would be revealed in time.
You must understand that sometimes in life you won’t get the answers you seek right away. You have to walk by faith. I had to learn to trust in the possibilities for my life. If I can have that trust， you can too.
Think about it： I had no way of knowing， as a boy， that my lack of limbs would help me offer my message of hope in so many nations and to so many diverse people. The hard times and the discouragements are not fun. You don‘t have to pretend to enjoy them. But believe in the possibilities for better days ahead， for a fulfilling and purposeful life.
A ROLE MODEL
The first time I really witnessed the power of believing in one’s destiny was during a high school assembly， when I heard my first motivational speaker. He was an American named Reggie Dabbs， and he had a tough job that day. There were fourteen hundred kids in our school assembly. The air was hot and sticky. The cranky sound system crackled and popped and sometimes just quit.
The natives were restless， but he totally captivated us with his story， telling us that he‘d been born to an unmarried teenage Louisiana prostitute who had considered abortion to solve her “little problem.” Fortunately for Reggie， she decided to give birth to him. She had no family and no place to live once she became pregnant so she moved into a chicken coop.
Huddled there one night， scared and alone， she remembered that a former teacher， a very sympathetic woman， had told her to call if she ever needed help. That teacher’s name was Mrs. Dabbs. She drove from her home in Tennessee to Louisiana， picked up the pregnant teen， and took her home to her own family， a husband and six grown children. Mrs. Dabbs and her husband adopted Reggie and gave him their last name.
The couple instilled in him strong moral values， Reggie said. One of the primary lessons they taught him was that no matter what his situation or circumstances， he always had the choice of responding in either a negative way or a positive way.
Reggie told us that he‘d almost always made the right decisions because he had faith in the possibilities for his life. He didn’t want to do bad because he believed there was so much good awaiting him. He especially emphasized something that really hit home with me： “You can never change your past， but you can change your future！”
I took his words to heart. He touched all of us. Reggie also helped plant a seed in my mind about having a career as a public speaker. I liked the fact that this humble guy had a positive impact on such a big， fidgety group of people in just a few minutes. And it was also pretty cool that he jetted about the planet just to talk to people—he got paid to give people hope！
As I left school that day， I thought， Maybe I‘ll have a good story like Reggie’s to share someday. I encourage you to accept that you may not be able to see a path right now， but that doesn‘t mean it’s not there. Have faith， your story is still waiting to unfold， and I know it will be incredible！
