Many years ago, a poor immigrant brought his family to America to find a better life. The man spent weeks searching for a job to no avail. One day, he heard that a popcorn factory would be hiring a janitor. He was the first to arrive at the factory the next morning. The foreman handed him a job application. With much humility, the immigrant man gave it back, explaining that he could neither read nor write. The foreman told him he just didn’t qualify for the job. Insisting that he was a hard worker and could do the duties of a janitor quite well, he was very disappointed to leave the factory jobless because of his illiteracy.

With no money and a hungry family, the man began to fish to put food on the table. Every day the family ate fish. Some days he would catch enough to sell to the local market. Soon he saved enough money to buy a small boat. Using the boat, he was able to catch more fish and add more customers. Before long he had enough money to buy a second boat, and a third, and hire a crew. His fishing business grew rapidly. He soon had a whole fleet of ships.

Now a millionaire, this once poor immigrant went to the bank. As you might expect, he was treated like royalty. Sitting in the bank president’s office, the banker slid some papers across the desk for the man to sign. The millionaire humbly wore “X” at the bottom of the page.

“My,” said the banker, “it’s hard to believe. You’re a self-made millionaire, and you cannot read or write. Just imagine where you would be if you could read.”

The millionaire replied, “I’d be a janitor in a popcorn factory.”

In our story, we see that this man’s weakness ultimately brought him success. Many times, it is hard for us to understand why God allows pain and heartache in our life. Yet, we come to realize, they help us to become the person He wants us to be, drawing us closer to Him. If we truly submit to Him, the areas in which we are weakest, can be the stepping stones to our greatest victories.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.