A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford
This week I read a quotation from Helen Keller, the remarkable woman born blind and deaf, who used her life so gloriously for good. She wrote something remarkable for a blind woman to say: “The loss of sight is not the real tragedy. The real tragedy is to have sight but no vision.”
The words jangled in my mind. “Coulda. Woulda. Shoulda,” as my sister Joy would say. ‘ “I would have. I could have. I should have. Why didn’t I?” This poor world is in such horrible shape. People so badly need to know of God’s love and His provision of forgiveness for them. Why don’t I do more? Where is my vision? I don’t even meet my own expectations, let alone the expectations of others!
Then I heard the quiet voice of the Lord Jesus—so quiet I had to sit quite still to be able to hear Him, “Libby, that’s not what I need from you. That’s not what I expect of you.”
He recalled to my mind what I’d just read in Psalm 50 this week. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and if He were hungry He wouldn’t ask me for help.. He said He has the resources of the whole world at hand. So what does He want from me? He answers in Psalm 50:14: “Make thankfulness your sacrifice to Me.”
“O.K., I can do that. I am grateful, so grateful, for Your constant loving care through the long years. What else do You want from me, dear Jesus?”
“Only your love. Your trust.”
When the Pharisees saw Jesus feed 5,000 men besides the women and children with just a few little fishes and buns, they were jealous. They liked the free bread and fish! So they asked Jesus,
“We want to perform God’s works, too.
What should we do?”
Jesus told them,
“Believe in the One He has sent.”
How can I today do God’s work, with all my handicaps and inabilities? Simply trust Jesus. Believe Him. Obey Him. Thank Him. With His help and care, I can do today what He wants me to do. That’s the vision I need.
You may be struggling with many of those same emotions. You carry heavy burdens—family, work, friends, finances, concern for your country, concern for the future. But when Helen Keller insists you need to have a vision and work toward it, your heart may cringe. It all seems overpowering, too much for you to attempt. But all God really expects of you is to love Him with all your heart, and trust Him and thank Him. He will give you the strength, the wisdom, and the courage to accomplish His vision for you today.