A diving accident in 1967 left Joni Eareckson Tada a wheelchair bound quadriplegic at the age of 17, but her life and influence have been far from bound. She is a Christian motivational speaker, artist, and author, a radio and television personality, and an advocate for the disabled.

David Ring was born with cerebral palsy. He has endured great physical and emotional pain, and his speech is slurred and disconnected, making him difficult to understand; but he has been speaking publicly since 1973, encouraging thousands that they, too, can overcome adversity through Jesus Christ.

Joseph's older brothers had always been envious of him, hating the very sight of him, loathing the very sound of his voice. Jealousy inspired plans to kill him, plans that eventually gave way to the more financially lucrative idea of selling him into slavery. They had heard about Joseph's dreams of greatness for the last time, and the only way to rid themselves of those dreams was to rid themselves of him! And that's exactly what they did. Years went by without the brothers really knowing what had happened to Joseph. For all they knew, he was dead, but he was far from dead. He had been rejected by his own brothers, sold as a slave, falsely accused of a crime, and imprisoned. But God - yes, but God protected him and then promoted him to a position of leadership in Egypt - 2^nd in command only to Pharaoh! In fact, if it had not been for Joseph, the Hebrew race would have been wiped out, starving to death during seven years of famine that came upon the land. It was the promise of grain during these days of famine that brought about a reunion between Joseph and his brothers - a reunion that could have easily turned deadly; but, the day his brothers stood before him, he embraced them and said, "Do not be distressed or angry with yourselves, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life . . . it was not you who sent me here, but God . . .you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good." Genesis 45:5-8 ; Gen 50:20 I'm sure the brothers stared at Joseph in total disbelief as they heard the words come out of his mouth. Was it true? Was Joseph right to say that Satan's attempts to prevent his fulfillment of destiny were the very things God used to catapult him toward his destiny? The events leading to this moment were difficult ones for Joseph, but they were necessary to bring him to his place of destiny - a position of leadership that God used to secure the salvation of the Hebrew people.

The apostle Paul had three successful missionary journeys during his ministry, but his firm stand for Christ landed him in quite a bit of hot water at times. He spent a number of years under house arrest or prison; and yet, he wrote these words in 2 Timothy 2:9 , "For that Gospel I am suffering affliction and even wearing chains like a criminal. But the Word of God is not chained or imprisoned!" It didn't matter to Paul what his circumstances were; he knew that God, nor His Word, were chained to or bound by those circumstances. The truth is, if it had not been for Paul's prison time, quite a few books in the New Testament would not have been written. If Paul had been a free man, he would have been out in the field working among the people he loved so much, faithfully preaching the Gospel. Instead, his only means of communication was writing letters, and God inspired Paul to write letter after letter confronting issues from love and forgiveness to the way a pastor should conduct himself. He wrote letters of reprimand and correction, encouragement to keep hope alive, and gentle persuasion to pursue Christlikeness; letters exposing, clarifying, and defending the message of the Gospel; and letter after letter exalting his Savior. Because these letters were written, anybody that knows the Bible knows Paul, and anybody that knows Paul knows a good bit of the Bible! Thousands of sermons, Christian art, and Bible studies have been inspired and based on the principles contained in these letters. I'm sure Satan meant for the chains and prison guards to stop Paul, but it all simply played right into God's hands, actually paving the way for Paul to fulfill his destiny and purpose.

How could Joseph, Paul, Joni, and David have the attitude they did toward their circumstances? Because they realized that it wasn't about them but was all about God and HIS power to accomplish His purpose in all things. Wallowing in excuses of limitations and liabilities is proof that a person still believes it's all about them. Jesus said, "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just one grain; it never becomes more but lives by itself alone; but if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest." John 12:24

We can perceive personal tragedy, a wheelchair, a speech impediment, abuse, or imprisonment as a limitation and simply minister to ourselves; or we can die to self and accept the truth that great things are accomplished, not by our might, nor by our power, but by HIS Spirit. Zechariah 4:6 By choice, circumstances can cease being a dead end life of dead end prisons full of dead end chains and become an open door to one Who is unhindered and unlimited in ALL He is and ALL He can do! Maybe, just maybe, this thing we call a liability is actually what God wants to use to catapult us toward a greater purpose and calling in life.

For every circumstance we face, we are met with the choice to view it as a roadblock or a roadway. - a dead end or an open door. Your life is like a grain of wheat. The question is: will yours remain a single grain, or will it be the first of a rich harvest?