Was it his abilities? His talent, perhaps? Or simply a smile? The moment I first met Nick Vujicic, I knew I was in the presence of someone remarkable. From the instant he began sharing his story, I could see how God uses even a man without arms or legs as an instrument to reveal and move His hand.
Nick: "My father told me he was standing beside my mother when I was born. When he saw my shoulder with no arm attached, he was stunned. He didn't want my mother to notice, but the shock forced him to leave the delivery room. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen. He ran to the doctors, repeating: 'My son is missing his right arm!' The doctors told him: 'No, your son is missing both arms and both legs.' My father wouldn't accept it. So in the church where my father was a pastor, everyone wondered: 'Why did God allow this?' At first, my mother didn't want to hold me, didn't want to nurse me. She felt uncomfortable. That went on for the first four months. It took a long time before my parents could begin to believe that God hadn't made a mistake in creating me."
Nick's parents placed their sorrow and disappointment at the feet of the Lord. They chose to trust in God and His promises: God had a plan and a future for their son's life. But as Nick grew, he struggled to trust a God who, in his view, had given him less than everyone else.
Nick: "So I challenged God. I told Him: 'God, I know I'm a sinner, and I know that without You in my heart I won't have peace. But I won't let You into my heart until You answer this: Why? Why did You create me without arms and legs? Why didn't You give me what everyone else has?' I told Him I wouldn't serve Him until He answered those questions.
I thought that if God wouldn't end my suffering, then I would. I was eight years old when I tried to kill myself by drowning in the bathtub. I asked my parents to put me in the water because I wanted to relax, and I tried to turn myself face-down to drown. But I couldn't find the strength to do it. What stopped me was my love for my parents. I love them so much because all they've ever done is love me. I thought about my own funeral. I imagined my parents, and I saw an enormous weight of guilt crushing them, blaming them for not doing enough for me."
That was the last time Nick tried to take his own life, but it wasn't the last time he faced his pain head-on.
Then one day, his mother read him an article about a man who, like Nick, suffered from severe disability. That man's story changed everything.
Nick: "So I decided to stop being angry with God for what I didn't have, and I started thanking Him for what I did have. My mother told me, 'Nick, I don't know how or when, but God will use you!' Those words became a seed planted in me. For the first time, I understood that there's no point in being 'complete' on the outside when you're broken on the inside. I also realized that God can heal you even by changing your circumstances. I gave my life to Jesus by reading the Bible—the Gospel of John. I was fifteen. I read about Jesus walking through a village and seeing a man born blind, and the people around him asked: why was this man born this way? And Jesus answered: 'It is so that the works of God may be revealed in him.' In 2 Timothy 3:16, the Bible says that all Scripture is inspired by God. Those verses gave me life and faith. That faith filled me, and with it came a deep peace. And in that moment, I understood God's answer to my questions. Why did You create me this way? His answer was: 'Do you trust Me?' When we can say yes to that question, nothing else matters anymore!"
What drove Nick to trust in God and His word? What made him trust in God without yet knowing what He had prepared for him?
Nick: "I couldn't find anything else. Nothing else could give me peace. I was aware that even a pair of legs and arms wouldn't have given me peace. I needed to know the truth about my life—who I am, why I'm here, and where I'll go when I'm no longer here. And I couldn't find any true answer except in Jesus."
And so, in Jesus alone, Nick found the strength to do what many people would have thought impossible.
Nick: "It's hard to be strong when the people around you keep discouraging you. You're not good enough, you're not strong enough, go away, Nick, you can't do this, Nick, Nick… In life, if you don't know the truth, you can never be free. You'll end up confusing lies for truth. But when we realize that God's word is true, we understand the truth about ourselves. I'm not a man without arms and legs. I'm a son of God. I've been forgiven for my sin, and I'm an ambassador of the King of kings. I'm nothing less than a servant of the Most High God. This has nothing to do with Nick, with my abilities or my skills. I'm nothing, but God lives in me, and I live in His strength. Whatever Jesus conquers, I conquer at the same time. I believe that even if God doesn't give you a miracle, you are still a miracle of God for someone else's salvation. I thank God that He didn't answer my prayers when I begged Him for legs and arms. This physical condition of mine has made me an instrument of God in different parts of the world. Through my testimony alone, I've brought approximately 200,000 people to meet Jesus for the first time in just the last seven years. How could I possibly prefer having legs and arms to that? No—let His will be done. I would rather not have legs and arms in this temporary earthly life than trade that for winning souls for Jesus and spending eternity with them in paradise."
Over the last ten years, Nick has shared his testimony in twenty-four nations with more than three million people. Whether he speaks in a packed stadium or to a single person, his message never changes.
Nick: "God loves you, and He has not forgotten your pain or your family. Perhaps as you listened to this interview, you compared your suffering to mine. But your hope isn't in comparing suffering or in knowing that someone else might suffer more than you do. True hope is in the name of God, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. You'll find hope when you compare your suffering to God's infinite love. Isaiah 40:31 says: 'But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles.' I don't need my circumstances to change. I don't need arms and legs. But I have the wings of the Holy Spirit, and I will soar, because I know that Jesus sustains me. Don't be discouraged. God will never abandon you!"
Full interview from CBN.com – Christian Broadcasting Network