Just a young girl, she wakes up before school and stretches long from a good night sleep. Fumbling to get herself together she makes her way to the bathroom and climbs up on the stool placed strategically in front of the mirror. But something is wrong. Her face begins to twist a little as a frown appears on her face. You see, as far as she was concerned, God had made a mistake on her. She had been born with an inadequacy in her book. Something needed to change. It may seem trivial to us, but to her this was a horrible feature she could not overcome on her own.. Her entire family had brilliant blue eyes; she had been left with deep brown eyes. And this was her daily routine. Every day she begged and pleaded with God to change the color of her eyes to a beautiful blue as she stared at herself in the mirror slightly distraught. Her prayer was never answered.
This is the story that captured my heart when I was still a young girl - only eight years of age. I knew I had to do something - I absolutely had to be involved in ministry in some way. Naturally, the story does not end here. This is the story of Amy Carmichael. A young girl who did not understand why God had made her the way that He did. And how many of us feel the same way? How many times do you look in the mirror and doubt why you look a certain way, act a certain way, or can't do certain things that others can? Too often, I can guarantee you that. Yet this is nothing new. Moses questioned God four different times in the matter of a few verses in Exodus 3 and 4. God had immaculate plans for him to do His ministry, yet Moses questioned that, feeling completely inadequate and full of fear of what may or may not happen. Still, God uses him in extraordinary ways.
Here's the clincher - God knows your so-called shortcomings. He knows them, and you, intimately. This does not stop the fact that He will call you to do great things. None of your weaknesses are too great for God's strength. Instead, God makes provisions for where we think we cannot follow through (Aaron's ministry alongside Moses) to grow us into the person He needs us to be. We are human. He knows that. He wants to use that. We are His plan for the world!
So what became of Amy, the brown-eyed, blue-eye wannabe? As Amy became an adult she slowly began to realize God had a plan for her and became satisfied with exactly how God made her in every detail. There was a dying and hurting world that she could minister to in a unique way. To make a long story short, she got heavily involved in sharing the gospel in India. Because of her deep brown eyes she was able to put makeup on her lighter skin and become part of the culture with the people. She had an "in" that many did not have. And she was one of the first to bring the gospel into an area the gospel had never touched before as she built a trust with the people. There was a very clear reason she was born with brown eyes and not blue. The one thing that she tried to pray away for years God used to His advantage. Likewise, God used the trouble Moses had in speaking to show His might - among other things, He helped him overcome this seemingly large disadvantage and become one of the greatest vehicles for bringing God's chosen people, Israel, into the Promised Land.
So let me ask you this: what are the shortcomings you think you have? Are you surrendering them to God so that He can use you and overcome what seem to be failures and faults? And lastly, what kind of ministry will God enable you to accomplish for Him through all this? Doubting who God made you to be only robs yourself of the blessing He has in store for you. He will use you to do phenomenal things if you let Him. I plead with you to trust Him with every little detail - He is more than capable!!
