Question 1

Does God care about people with disabilities?

Accepted Answer

Jeremiah 31:8“For I [the Lord] will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women in labor. A great company will return!”God’s compassionate purposes have always included people with disabilities. God loves every person equally, regardless of strengths or limitations.Luke 7:22Then he [Jesus] told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.”Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus demonstrated special concern for people who suffered with disabilities. And Jesus’ concern didn’t merely stay in his heart, but reached out with help and healing.Acts 3:7Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up.As Christ’s representatives, the apostles’ ministry reached out to include all people, no matter what their gifts or challenges. We should also look for ways to help and fully include people who are in need.Isaiah 35:5-6When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!When Jesus returns and the earth is made perfect, all sickness and disability will be fully and forever healed.

Question 2

Can God use us when we are suffering from a disability?

Accepted Answer

Exodus 4:10-11Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord?”God is more powerful than our limitations. What we see as something that would hold us back, God sees as an opportunity to display his power. God certainly had big plans for Moses.Ruth 1:16Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”In the culture of ancient Israel, Ruth had two significant disabilities—she was a foreigner and a widow—yet she is a model of loyalty and became an ancestor of the Messiah.Galatians 6:11Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting.The apostle Paul may have had a serious vision problem, yet the Lord was pleased to use him in mighty ways. Never use your limitations as an excuse not to serve God.1 Corinthians 12:7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.God has given all his people—no matter what our disabilities—spiritual gifts for serving others. Sometimes our very limitations enable us to serve in ways that nobody else can.Isaiah 35:5-6When he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy! Springs will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams will water the wasteland.Jeremiah 31:8“I [the Lord] will bring them from the north and from the distant corners of the earth. I will not forget the blind and lame, the expectant mothers and women in labor. A great company will return!”God wants to use all his people to accomplish his work and he has a special calling for each of us, no matter what challenges we face. All of us have weaknesses—some visible, others unseen by others—but God will supply whatever strength or ability we need to serve him.

Question 3

How should I react to people who have challenges different from my own?

Accepted Answer

1 Corinthians 12:7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.Many of us go through life with the special challenge of a physical, mental, or emotional disability. Yet our disabilities never negate the fact that we are loved and valued by God, who has a unique purpose for each of us. Jesus paid special attention to the disabled, stopping to tend to their bodies, minds, and hearts. He always responded with compassion and mercy, and often with healing. Your response to others with disabilities should be the same. When you look at someone with a disability different from your own, learn to see as God does. We are all God’s children, and equally valued by him.Matthew 8:1-3Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.Matthew 15:29-30Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.Luke 13:10-13One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!We should offer whatever friendship, encouragement, and healing we can.

Disabilities