August 1, 2007
When it comes to being the woman that God has called you to be what frustrates you the most? What limitations seem to constantly keep you from the kind of faith and obedience that you know should characterize your life? We all have areas in our lives in which we fall short of the surrender and complete obedience that God desires. For each of these areas, we typically have an excuse. The form my excuses most often take is “I’m not _______________ enough.” Throughout my Christian journey, I have filled in the blank with a number of things – outgoing, smart, experienced, strong, faithful, etc.
From a human perspective, many of our excuses are quite legitimate. From God’s perspective, however, they simply don’t hold up. To illustrate this, I want to introduce you to man that I met in the pages of a book entitled Baptists and the Bible. His name is John L. Dagg. If ever there was a man who had an excuse to settle for the typical ho-hum, mediocre, “do enough to get by” Christian life, it was John Dagg. As I read his story, I was so challenged and encouraged. I am thrilled to share it with you.
Life started out quite well for Dagg (born in 1794), especially in the area of academic achievements. Though he had very little formal training, he “conquered Hebrew, Greek, and Latin almost single-handedly.” By the age of 15, he became a teacher. Of the 27 students he taught, several of them were older than him. Clearly, he was brilliant and highly motivated! Sounds like this story is going to be one of those “happily ever after” tales, doesn’t it? Well, not quite.
Though Dagg had the potential to be a very successful lawyer, he surrendered to the call to full time Christian service as a Baptist minister. In his autobiography, he wrote, “Over against those [benefits that accompany the legal profession] I contemplated the reproach of being a Baptist minister, and the poverty to be expected. In full view of the contrast, my heart said, give me reproach and poverty, if I may serve Christ and save souls. From that hour I have never doubted my call to the ministry.” He knew that a life fully devoted to God would not be easy, yet I doubt he had any idea how difficult his journey would be.
What struck me most as I read Dagg’s story were the extreme physical and emotional limitations that plagued him the majority of his adult life. First, he was lame, which resulted from a series of aggravations to his legs. These aggravations eventually forced him to use a crutch in order to walk. Second, he experienced the untimely death of his wife just weeks after she gave birth to their forth child. Dagg described her death as the “severest blow I had ever received.” A third challenge that Dagg faced was severe damage to his eyesight. The impairment eventually became so advanced that he was forced to wear bandages over his eyes much of the time. Dagg also suffered from issues with his vocal cords. In April 1834, his voice completely left him and he was never able to speak above a whisper after that time.
Lame, grief-stricken, blind, and hoarse. If ever there was a man who had good reasons to doubt and neglect the calling God had placed on his life, it was John L. Dagg. He could have thrown in the towel and no one would have blamed him. According to Dagg’s personal testimony, his faith was severely tried by all of this. He was heard to say, “Lame and blind, how could I be useful, and how [could I] provide for the wants of my children?” Have you ever asked a similar question?
Though Dagg’s faith was tried, it was not defeated. He pressed on in spite of the tremendous challenges. Through his ministry, especially his writing, he made a huge impact. He was and still is a beloved defender of the authority and inerrancy of the Bible. Was he lame, heartbroken, blind and hoarse? Yes. Was he willing to allow those life-altering limitations to keep him from complete surrender to his God? No.
I said earlier that from God’s perspective, our excuses don’t hold up. Why is that? Well, from God’s perspective even the most talented and trial-free among us are nothing and can do nothing of eternal significance apart from Christ. You and I are to actively work out our salvation by walking in obedience day-by-day, but we must never forget “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Second Peter 1:3 says, “His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness.” In John 15:5 Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit.” What God reminded me of as I read about John Dagg is that the talents, abilities, and resources that I bring or don’t bring to God are of little consequence. The Christian life is not about offering my resources – it’s about taking hold of His. What if I have no legs, no eyes, no voice? Could God use me then? Yes, He could, because it’s not about me. It’s about what God can do in and through me as I surrender to Him. John Dagg is living proof of this truth.
As I reflect on the legacy of John Dagg, the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 come to mind: “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
I don’t know a whole lot about John Dagg, but I am confident that he experienced first hand the sufficiency of God’s grace – not in spite of his ailments, but because of them. You and I as believers can experience the same thing, but we must choose to lay aside our excuses, take hold of God’s resources, and walk in obedience. On our own we don’t have what it takes. We are severely limited, but God is not. Based on the authority of God’s Word we can say with absolute confidence, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). No more excuses!