Nick Vujicic - God's Man of the Millenium?

Joni Eareckson Tada
Founder/CEO
Joni and Friends International Disability Center

Since I came to know Christ as my Lord and Saviour in 1994 it has been a dream of mine to stand up in front of churches and other venues full of people and be a powerful witness for Christ, through talking about the changes He has brought about in my life since I gave it to Him.

From the depths of depression and despair He gave me a reason to live in spite of my circumstances, and has guided my life from that point on. From my passion and pursuit of flying at all costs He showed me that there were more important things He wanted to achieve through my life, in His name, and since I made the decision to follow Him completely I have been truly blessed.

For a start He brought Suzanne and I together and through our Wings As Eagles ministry He has worked in our lives individually and as a couple in ways we could never have imagined. Through our involvement in orphanage work in China, our sponsoring initially then the fostering of Deborah and her permanent residency in Australia, and through the opportunities He created for us to witness for Him by means of the various classes we conducted in Shantou, China, He has been faithful to His Word to bless those who are faithful to Him.

My personal, selfish dream of standing up and speaking confidently in front of lots of people will most likely remain just that - a dream. For I have only recently realised that He has already been using me in other ways to achieve His will for me. Like the Apostle Paul when he asked three times for the “thorn” to be removed (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), I wanted God to change me so that I could talk with confidence. But then I realised He was already using my written word to achieve all that I wanted to say verbally.

Through my autobiography Rotor in the Green first published in 1996, through my second book With Wings as Eagles, and through our Wings As Eagles website He has allowed me to introduce people like Nick Vujicic to those who would otherwise have never heard of him.

Nick is a young 25 year-old Australian who for no medical reason was born without arms or legs. It seemed every day of Nick’s life was destined to be a constant struggle for him, but instead as a young boy he found comfort in God’s Word from Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

These words empowered Nick to come to terms with his situation and overcome the difficulties he faced in his childhood, at school, and through his teenage years. Now, through his Life Without Limbs ministry Nick has spoken to two million people in 19 nations.

In November 2008 I made the five hour bus trip from my home at the time in Shantou, China, across the border to Hong Kong to hear Nick speak at the Concert of Power during his Asia tour. I had previously viewed two of Nick’s highly motivational DVD’s and often used them as witnessing tools, so I was well aware of Nick’s ability to move an audience which had probably come to see him mostly for the novelty value.

I was sitting in an aisle seat in the venue and prior to the commencement of the concert I thought Nick would be backstage somewhere waiting for his time to appear. But when the performance began, he was wheeled by his minders down the aisle right next to me and given a seat a few rows back from the stage.

There were no surprises for me when it was Nick’s turn to take the stage for the next 45 minutes. He used a great mixture of Scripture and humour, often at the expense of his disability of course, to put the audience at ease.

But when Nick got serious it was so easy to forget that same disability, and get swept away with his powerful message of hope and encouragement for the physically, emotionally and spiritually handicapped. There were many tears shed during his closing prayer, and many hands raised in acceptance of the gift of Jesus Christ into peoples’ lives.

Nick calls himself a “hugging machine” and always offers for people to come up after his talks and give him a hug under the threat of “… or I’ll chase you out of the building”. When he finished his message he was whisked away while the concert concluded. Just prior to being re-introduced for his “hugs” session Nick’s minders once again wheeled him down the aisle, and as luck would have it they paused right next to me.

I became aware of movement in the aisle so I looked around and there was Nick in his special wheelchair, just an arm length away. We made eye contact and all I could think of to say on the spur of the moment was, “G’day mate” in typical Aussie style and he responded accordingly.

From Hong Kong Nick went on to speak in Sichuan, mainland China, to share with orphans from the earthquake which claimed nearly 70,000 lives and displaced 4.8 million people. He then went on to visit an orphanage school in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, before proceeding to Beijing to speak.

Beijing may well have hosted a very spectacular and successful Olympic Games earlier that year, and China is a country which will be playing a major role politically, economically and in many other respects in decades to come. But in the area of recognition of and facilities for her handicapped they are decades behind the West.

We pray that Nick’s presence in China as an internationally recognised advocate for the handicapped, and his message of the value God places on any human being regardless of handicap, did not fall on deaf ears.

Nick’s moving testimony certainly does “…move hearts and lives toward Him”. If you are interested in being inspired by more of Nick’s own fascinating, life-changing story, click on to Nick's Life Without Limits website.
Wings As Eagles

(updated 24Aug11)