'Life Without Limits' message gives hope to people

Intermountain Catholic

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Nick Vujicic, born without limbs, prays with the youth at an afternoon presentation Sept. 12. He told the story of a girl who was poor, her parents were divorced, and she thought God had forgotten her. She heard his story, met him, and realized if he did not give up, she would not either. She was able to enter a Bible college and succeed. IC photo by Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Born without limbs, and lacking any clear medical explanation for his condition, Nick Vujicic has pursued life’s greater purpose.

Vujicic was the guest speaker at the Salt Palace Convention Center Sept. 11-12, at a few Christian Churches, and at the Tabernacle Sept. 13.

Vujicic receives over 200 speaking invitations a week. He was brought to Salt Lake City by nine key pastors in a network of evangelical churches in 23 denominations.

"It is a privilege to be in Utah," said Vujicic. "I want to thank all of you for coming, and I want to thank the executive committee for bringing me here.

"No matter what God put me through, I know I can live a life of victory. If you pray for a miracle and you don’t get the miracle you will be a miracle for somebody else," said Vujicic. I prayed for arms and legs, but God healed my heart.

"The day I was born brought hurt, pain and struggle. My parents were Christians; my Dad was even a pastor of our church," said Vujicic. "However, on the morning of Dec. 4 , 1982, in Melbourne, Australia, the last two words on the minds of my parents was "Praise God!" Their firstborn son had been born without limbs. There were no warnings or time to prepare themselves for it. Having no answers at all, the doctors were completely shocked and taken off guard."

Vujicic said the whole church mourned over his birth and his parents were absolutely devastated. Understandably, his parents had strong concern and evident fears of what kind of life he would be able to lead.

"It was in my early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of my physical difference," said Vujicic. "Feeling I was a burden to those around me, I sensed the sooner I’d just go away altogether, the better it would be for everyone. So, as a 10 year old, I wanted to end my pain and my life. I tried to roll over in four inches of water to drown myself in the bath tub, but couldn’t do it.

"I am thankful for my parents and my family who were always there to comfort me and lend me their strength. Thankfully, a real turning point arrived," said Vujicic. "Due to the emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self-esteem and loneliness, God began to instill a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they might have in their lives. Turning my struggles into something that would glorify God and bless others, I realized my purpose.

"I am 26 years old and now I live in California," said Vujicic. "Get to know who God is. Talk to him. I don’t know what paths he will lead you down, but God has plans for all of us. Renew in your mind to know that God knows what is best for you in your life.

"It may be offensive when you are crying on the inside and feel like you have nothing left or are dying of cancer," said Vujicic. "When I go into a restaurant and my care giver is assisting me, people stop and stare at me and my care giver because we look like Siamese twins. But I get over it. Jesus is my shepherd whose grace is sufficient for me.

"For years I prayed for arms and legs. I even have a pair of shoes in my closet just in case," said Vujicic. "But God said, ‘Nick I have given you this life, now go. Now I’ve got to do something – wrong. People say Nick you have saved 2,000 souls. Actually I can’t even save my own soul, are you kidding me. Without God, we aren’t capable of doing anything on our own.

"Many people have a house but they do not know how to make it a home," said Vujicic. "It is rich on the outside, but poor on the inside. Teenagers stop eating because they feel incomplete on the inside and hope something on the outside will change. You can have everything, but unless you know who your Lord is, you could fall at any time.

"I did not need arms and legs, I needed the salvation of my father," said Vujicic. "Addiction to pornography is worse than having no arms or legs. You know what is more disabling than no arms or legs is sin. There is not one sin you can hide from yourself or God. If you try, you will be depressed.

"Before I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I was separated from God," said Vujicic. "God changes your head. Get a dose of the Bible instead of a dose of alcohol because you will wake up with the same pain. Jesus hears the heart. He is the judge of love with justice.

"You can have all the friends in the world and still be alone," said Vujicic. "There are still times I wake up impatient and upset. I am still under construction.

"As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all," said Vujicic. "What’s worse is putting limits on God, who is well able to do all things. We put God in a box. The awesome thing about the power of God is that if we want to do something for God, we must refocus. Instead of concentrating on our capability, our attention needs to shift to our availability. For, the Word of God is clear; it is God working through us. Once we make ourselves available for God’s work, guess whose capabilities we rely on? God’s!

"We have a hero who stands beside us – Jesus. He gave his life for us and his spirit lives in us," said Vujicic. "I thank God I have no arms and legs because Jesus is the way the truth and the life. God is a God of miracles."