10"So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build,11houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant--when you have eaten and are full--12then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
The reminder to the children of Israel: don't forget God, acknowledge His blessings, reflect on your freedom to which He has brought you. That was the caution, and unfortunately, throughout the Scriptures, we see God reaching out to people who did not observe His ways and remember His faithfulness. For instance, instead of reflecting on God's deliverance from Egypt, they chided Moses for taking them out of their relative comfort in Egypt, where they were in bondage being persecuted and driven to work especially hard. But, they chose to remember the wrong things. Satan will ensure that we remember the wrong things, too - He will cause us to dwell on our past sinfulness and shame, instead of on our Redeemer who has freed us from sin. We have to choose to remember the right things, the moments of life where we have seen God show up and show out in our lives.
Before I share a story that took place recently involving a young man overcoming a huge barrier in his life, I want to share about a moment in the life of the nation of Israel involving God's faithfulness. From 1st Samuel 7:
7Now when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, they were afraid of the Philistines.8So the children of Israel said to Samuel, "Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines."9And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.10Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel.11And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car.12Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."
As a student at Thornhill Community Academy, featured in the British TV documentary series, "Educating Yorkshire", Musharaf Asghar had been bullied due to his stammer. But, as The Christian Post puts it, in a "triumphant move", he delivered a farewell speech in front of his classmates and teachers that made it difficult for them to keep their eyes dry.
Much like King George VI of England, who was portrayed by Colin Firth in the 2010 movie, "The King's Speech," Musharaf's struggles with his stammer is highlighted in a YouTube clip from the television series and ends with him thanking his teachers and classmates for cheering him on to the point of graduating with a pass in his oral English exams.
Before delivering his moving speech, Musharaf is seen in the video being coached by his English teacher Mr. Burton on how to pass his oral English exams with Margaret Atwood's poem, "The Moment," which reads, in part:
The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the center of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,
As Musharaf struggled with the poem, Mr. Burton decides to borrow a tactic from "The King's Speech" by letting the teen listen to music as he read aloud and it worked. As he describes it, "The most amazing moment for me was when I finally managed to speak in Mr. Burton's class. I was preparing for the oral part of my English GCSE. It was worth 20% of my overall marks and I was getting really stressed out about it. Then Mr. Burton suggested I practice (sic) in front of him, using headphones. My speech is better with people I know anyway, but I felt so free when I put the headphones on I was able to get my words out clearly," he said.
He wrote, "I'm really happy and proud to be on telly (television) as I hope it gives other people with a stammer the confidence to have a go at public speaking. My speech is getting better every week. Everyone at college gives me time, but I'm getting quicker anyway so they don't miss their bus while they are listening to me. I still won't be applying for any call-center jobs yet though."
As a student at Thornhill Community Academy, featured in the British TV documentary series, "Educating Yorkshire", Musharaf Asghar had been bullied due to his stammer. But, as The Christian Post puts it, in a "triumphant move", he delivered a farewell speech in front of his classmates and teachers that made it difficult for them to keep their eyes dry.
Much like King George VI of England, who was portrayed by Colin Firth in the 2010 movie, "The King's Speech," Musharaf's struggles with his stammer is highlighted in a YouTube clip from the television series and ends with him thanking his teachers and classmates for cheering him on to the point of graduating with a pass in his oral English exams.
Before delivering his moving speech, Musharaf is seen in the video being coached by his English teacher Mr. Burton on how to pass his oral English exams with Margaret Atwood's poem, "The Moment," which reads, in part:
The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the center of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,
As Musharaf struggled with the poem, Mr. Burton decides to borrow a tactic from "The King's Speech" by letting the teen listen to music as he read aloud and it worked. As he describes it, "The most amazing moment for me was when I finally managed to speak in Mr. Burton's class. I was preparing for the oral part of my English GCSE. It was worth 20% of my overall marks and I was getting really stressed out about it. Then Mr. Burton suggested I practice (sic) in front of him, using headphones. My speech is better with people I know anyway, but I felt so free when I put the headphones on I was able to get my words out clearly," he said.
He wrote, "I'm really happy and proud to be on telly (television) as I hope it gives other people with a stammer the confidence to have a go at public speaking. My speech is getting better every week. Everyone at college gives me time, but I'm getting quicker anyway so they don't miss their bus while they are listening to me. I still won't be applying for any call-center jobs yet though."
There are several takeaways from this story for the Christian. First of all, I want to think with you about the power of a moment. We all have those milestones in our lives, memorable occurrences that have marked a particular accomplishment or even demonstrated to us the faithfulness of God. We do well to cherish those moments and allow God to use them in our lives to encourage us and strengthen our faith in Him. We see in the Old Testament that God set up for His people special days, certain feasts and remembrances, and even commemorative monuments that marked those glorious moments in the life of their nation. As Christians, I think that powerful moments of remembrance can be tremendously encouraging for us.
I also think that God provides for us opportunities to overcome barriers. In this young man's case, it was a barrier to effective public speaking. There may be something that is holding you back in your life from fulfilling God's plan for you. There may be issues in your home that you have hit the wall on and seemingly have no resolution in sight. You may have faced the verbal assault of a co-worker or someone else you come in contact with. Or, you just feel stuck in where you are in your life or even your spiritual journey. I believe that we can pray for God to bring a breakthrough in our lives, to give us a fresh perspective, to allow us to experience a fullness of His power - bringing hope in hopelessness.
Finally, Musharaf said he hoped his story brought other people confidence. I think that his story can be a reminder to each of us to be willing to share what God has done in your life. Perhaps what you've learned, maybe even in one of those defining moments, can be helpful to someone else as they seek to trust the Lord and overcome barriers in their own walk.
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