Gerald Kennedy was talking with a man about a mutual friend who had just been awarded a fine promotion. The friend said, “And it is all the more remarkable and praiseworthy when you realize he has always had to fight his battles with a short-handled stick.” It is a good phrase and an enlightening one.
Most of the great men of the Bible and of modern days have been great in spite of limitations. Take Moses, for example. When God called him to deliver the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage Moses complained, “I am not an eloquent speaker.” Moses seemed to have a speech impediment. Life had handed him a short-handled stick. But in spite of this Moses became one of the greatest statesmen who ever lived.
Consider Booker T. Washington, the great African American educator. He was born a slave on a Virginia plantation of unknown parentage. He never slept in a bed until the slaves were freed. He slept on the dirt floor of a cabin that had no windows, only holes in the walls. He seldom had enough food to eat. He was uneducated and friendless. Life certainly handed him a short-handled stick. But this young man was led to Jesus Christ by his mother. As a slave, he loved Jesus Christ. As a slave, he sought knowledge. He grew to become a friend to every African American and an adviser to presidents. This is the man who founded Tuskegee Institute. He overcame his limitations.
Has life handed you a short-handled stick? Do you have a limitation? Don’t sit around complaining about it—use it. Present it and yourself to the Lord. A person can be used of God not according to their abilities, but according to their willingness.