Hebrews 13:6 

 

Cripple him and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in prison and you have a John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Subject him to bitter religious prejudice and you have a Disraeli. Strike him down with infantile paralysis and you have a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Deafen him and you still have a genius composer called Beethoven. Have him be born black in a society filled with racial discrimination and you have a George Washington Carver or a Martin Luther King, Jr. If that doesn’t challenge you, consider Benjamin Franklin: at 25, he founded America’s first library. At 31, he started its first fire department. At 36, he designed a heating stove that’s still in use today. At 40, he became one of the first harnessers of electricity. At 45, he founded the nation’s first university. At 79, he invented bifocals. Economist, philosopher, diplomat, inventor, educator, publisher, linguist (he spoke and wrote five languages). And he had exactly two years of formal schooling! It’s a good bet that you already have more sheer knowledge than he ever had when he was your age. Add to that these promises: “The Lord is my helper.” (Hebrews 13:6); “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13) and you have absolutely no excuse for not trying!