A New Day

By: Pastor Johnie Akers     

Exodus 4:10, “And Moses said unto the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant:  but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.’  And the Lord said unto him, ‘Who hath made the dumb, deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?  Have not I the Lord?  Now, therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.’”  Charlie Boswell was blinded during World War II. But he didn’t allow his blindness to stop him from playing his favorite sport—golf. In fact he went on to become the 13 time USA Blind Golf Champion. In 1958 Charlie was presented with the Ben Hogan award. Hogan of course was one of the greatest golfers of all time. When the two men met, Charlie said how he would dearly love to play a round of golf with Mr. Hogan.  Ben Hogan said he would be honored to play with Charlie.  Charlie saw his opportunity. “Would you like to play for money, Mr. Hogan?”  “I can’t play you for money, it wouldn’t be fair!” said Mr. Hogan. “Aw, come on, Mr. Hogan . . . $1,000 per hole!”  “I can’t, what would people think of me, taking advantage of you and your circumstance,” replied the sighted golfer.  “Chicken, Mr. Hogan?”  “Okay,” blurted a frustrated Hogan, “but I am going to play my best!”  “I wouldn’t expect anything else,”said the confident Boswell.  “You’re on Mr. Boswell; you name the time and the place!”  A very self-assured Boswell responded—“10 o’clock . . . tonight!”  Charlie Boswell accepted his limitation and actually used it for his advantage.  In our Scripture lesson today, when Moses was called of God to deliver Israel, Moses began focusing on his limitations—his inability to properly speak.  However, instead of God healing his infirmity, God used it as an opportunity to manifest his power in a greater way through Moses.  The Lord in effect said, “Moses, I made you so I am fully aware of your shortcomings.  Therefore, when you go, I’ll be with you.”  Our limitations only provide God with a greater capacity to allow His power to be manifest in our lives with each new day.  

Source: Adapted from John Kanary. "A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul" Editor: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk