A powerful testimony by a man born without arms is changing the world with the word of God and love.
Daniel Ritchie was born without arms and did all the normal things kids his age did. He went to elementary school and learned the ABCs like other children. He says they were not allowed to say the words ‘I can’t’ in their house and although it was a bit of a struggle trying to make toes what hands and arms were supposed to be doing.
Reality check
Things changed when he was 8-9 years of age and they went to Disney World and they wanted to get some ice cream and as he was waiting for his parents to get it, a little kid aged 2-3 came up to him and asked him where his hands were? he said he didn’t have any, but the little boy accused him of being a liar and hat he was hiding his hands inside his shirt.
That moment changed him and he started thinking that he wasn’t like everybody and that everybody could see that he was different from them. He believed that he was a ‘weirdo’ and was ‘damaged goods.’
Depression
He started slipping into darkness and depression and felt hurt all the time. He started hating people and questioned God that if he loved him then why didn’t he create him like everyone else? He started staying away from other people and became an introvert.
One day a fellow student asked him if he would come to their church they were doing a dodge ball lock-in. He was 15 years old and it was a fun night and agreed to go for it and there at one in the night, the Youth pastor took a simple devotion on John chapter 3 about Jesus coming to save the world and not to condemn it and on Romans 5 that while people were sinners Christ died for us.
Change of heart
The young man was sitting in his chair fighting thoughts that God did not love him because He did not give him arms. He felt the whole gospel washing over him at that moment, that even though he hated God but He was pursuing after him with his son through the death of His Son on the cross.
A new hope
God broke that hard heart of the young man and his entire life was changed and weeks after he was saved that weight was lifted off of him. He felt worth and that he was not a mutation or a mistake by God.
When he was 16 years old in the year 2000, and someone asked him to speak at a new year’s eve lock-in and he told him he couldn’t. But his friend kept persisting him to come speak to a crowd which he hated to do some months ago. But he knew the hope he had now and he had to tell everybody about it.
Impacting people
He was nervous about it and was throwing up before the meeting, but after he shared his story and message, one young person came up to him and told him about how God encouraged them through his story and how God moved in their lives. And he understood how God was working through his life in changing other people’s lives.
He started teaching and preaching at age 16 and today he is 34, God has used him powerfully for the last 18 years. God used an armless man to tell them about his hope.
Marriage
He has been married to Heather for 12 years and have two kids, people always tell him how much of an inspiration he is. His life mission is for people to see how God takes broken people and stitches them together and uses them for His glory.
This story shows us that God can take the most unlikely people and the obstacles in our lives and use them to show His glory and the work of His son.
Comments are closed.