God's Sovereign Control

"The Lord said to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" Exodus 4:11

I received a letter recently from a woman names Joanna. She wrote:

Joni, thank you for your ministry to the disabled. I'm legally blind and teach at a church school. My husband and I would like to know if you have a Biblical answer to the question of whether it is right to have children when there's a possibility they might inherit a handicap. we believe children are gifts from God, but many have said it is selfish to have a child who could potentially have a handicap. We're unsure of what to do.

I searched high and low in the Bible to find a direct answer to Joanna's question. But it only says that God gives children as blessings with no reference to their abilities or disabilities. In my opinion, in the absence of a clear direction from Scripture, the decision is left up to the individual.

But there was an important verse in Exodus 4 that I was able to share with Joanna. It seems Moses was distraught about his own handicap, a kind of speech impairment. God answered him in the eleventh verse: "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him site or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord?" (4:11)

Moses needed to hear that. But Exodus 4:11 is also a powerful statement and a wonderful assurance to an expectant mother. God controls all things, whether genetic mistakes or chromosomes miscounts. Somehow, all these, "accidents" - whether prenatal problems or injuries at birth - come under the sovereign control of God.

And what does God value most in any person's life, whether able-bodied or disabled? Isn't it a personal relationship with Him? A life of love and kindness? A cheerful spirit and a heart that is godly? These qualities are possible for even severely disabled people to cultivate.

And Joanna and her husband? They're decorating a nursery right now.

By Joni Eareckson Tata, taken from Women's Devotional Bible 1