Jeffrey Steinberg stands at 4 feet 6 inches tall (“Eat your heart out, Michael Jordan,” he jokes). He has no arms, his legs are malformed and he says he is not handicapped; rather he is a masterpiece in progress.
“I’m not handicapped because I don’t have any arms,” Steinberg says. “A handicap has nothing to do with that. A handicap is everything and anything that keeps me from being all that God’s designed for me to be. And He designed for me to be a masterpiece.”
For almost 40 years, the founder of Tiny Giant ministries has crisscrossed the earth sharing this message and the gospel to audiences in prisons, churches, schools, hospitals and on television. During his presentations he uses humor and songs to encourage people not to let their negative situations stop them from being extraordinary.
“We talk about getting rid of the things that handicap you, like circumstances,” he says of his messages.
“Circumstances can handicap us because we use it as an excuse. [But] we have a choice. The choice is that I choose to let God do through me the things that I cannot do for myself.”
Though Steinberg uses a hook to hold his microphone and has braces on his legs, God has used him to touch the lives of many. In addition to speaking, he’s released five music albums, a book titled Masterpiece in Progress, and a movie is being made about his life.
Steinberg says that no matter how you look, what family you have or what situation you find yourself in, God wants to create a masterpiece out of your life if you’ll let Him.
“Each of us is becoming, one color at a time, the masterpiece that God has designed for us to be,” he says. “Sometimes the colors blend into something even more beautiful. And sometimes they are right up against each other in harsh contrast.
“Only when we step back and look at the bigger picture can we see the masterpiece that He has in mind for our lives.”
