Several years ago, I was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). For many years, most people who knew me would have noted my tendencies toward ADHD. My constant energy, randomness, and desire to keep moving pointed to the reality of the diagnosis.
Once diagnosed, I sought medicinal treatment, and after a few weeks, discovered the medication was stealing my creativity and the energy I had so fondly enjoyed all my life. I spoke with my doctor who instructed me on correctly weaning myself from the medication. It was then that I decided ADHD was for me a gift and not a dreaded disease. God wired me in a special way to live out the ministry for which he called me.
In Psalm 139:13-14, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
I give God thanks for the way He created me as me. I have sharp edges and may be random and too talkative at times, yet God made me to continue proclaiming His message when others might tire out and give out. In a conversation with a retired mental health professional, she said to me, “You are going to love ADHD when you get to your 70s. When all your friends are wearing out and tired, you are going to keep going.”
My heart overflows that God wired me in a certain way and then called me to the ministry of proclaiming the Gospel around the world. No matter the time zone or the time of day, when the time comes to proclaim, meet, or work, I am ready for the opportunity God has laid out before me.
When you look at the areas of your life that some may see as negatives (i.e. in my case ADHD), how can we begin to look at the issue to see how God may be able to use it for His Kingdom and Glory? How can you seek the Lord to give you a new perspective that goes beyond the frustration with the diagnosis or disease to see God’s hand guiding you to a new understanding?
Now, are all diagnoses something God uses in the way God uses my ADHD? No. Sometimes God uses the diagnosis to witness God’s work in our lives to overcome. It also exemplifies our trust in Him in the presence of the diagnosis to be a testimony to other people of God’s faithfulness to give us strength.
I give God thanks for my ADHD. I surrender it to God each day as a gift and trust He will use it to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God around the world.
Prayer: Thank you for wiring us and equipping us for the ministry for which you have called. Whether we are quiet and calm, or, loud and energetic, we want to use these gifts to do your work, O Lord. We surrender to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.