Herman

Our story this month is about Herman, who is still living as far as I know. When Herman was a teenager, he believed God wanted him to be a preacher, but he had a problem. He was very afraid to speak in front of a group of people! In fact, when he was young he was asked to read the mission story at his little church one Sabbath morning (this church had only six members!), and he tried to be brave but after two sentences, he said shakily, “I can’t do this!” And he sat down.

Later on, Herman attended academy and the students at the academy sometimes presented programs at a local nursing home. One time Herman was asked to give a little talk, and he did! This time he made it through all that he was supposed to read! He was a little older and a little more grown up, and he actually finished his presentation, but on the way home, do you know what all of his friends told him on the bus? They told him he had done a terrible job and that he should never do it again! In fact, even the principal of the academy spoke to him later and said, “You know, farmers can witness for God. You do not have to be a preacher to be a witness for God. You can witness even as a farmer!” He said this because he also felt that Herman should not be a preacher.

Herman had a girlfriend in academy and as much as the girlfriend liked him, she also told him: “Maybe you shouldn’t be a preacher. You just don’t seem to have a way with words and when you stand in front of a group of people, you get so scared that it is hard to you to even speak!”

Now, if this many people had told you the same thing they told Herman, you might have thought that perhaps they knew what they were talking about, but not Herman! He did not give up but kept trying to be comfortable when speaking to a group of people! Later on, the school went on another trip to a nearby church to present a program and because they knew Herman wanted to be a preacher so badly, they again asked him to give a little talk. Do you know what happened this time? It worked! All his fears were gone. It was like his mouth could now form words. He spoke with enthusiasm, with effectiveness, and with happiness, and Herman later became a very appreciated preacher. He stood in front of congregations and spoke with ease.

One of the reasons I am telling this story is because Herman did not give up, even though at first he was very afraid! Many people tried to talk him out of preaching, but he kept trying to do what he believed God wanted him to do, and he was eventually successful. Maybe you are afraid to speak or sing in front of a group of people, but you can keep trying just like Herman did. God has a plan for you and one day you just might bless others with your voice.

Even Moses had a hard time when he thought of speaking to Pharaoh. God told Moses he wanted him to go back to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out into the wilderness. God wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh and say, “Let my people go.” Even though we know that Moses later proved to be a very great leader and that he listened to God and led the great multitude of people out of Egypt and through the wilderness in spite of their many problems, Moses was at first afraid that the Egyptians would not believe him. He tried to excuse himself by saying he was slow of speech and slow of tongue. Finally, God told him he would send Aaron to help him. Even though we love Moses, and Moses is now in heaven, he had a hard time going back to Egypt.

Sometimes fear, however, is good, for there are some things we should be afraid of. Karsatoa and Toban lived on the island of New Britain. New Britain is in the Pacific Ocean north of Australia near Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. A few decades ago, Karsatoa and Toban wanted to share the message of our heavenly Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, with the villagers on another island, but in order to get to that island they had to pass an island filled with people who did not like Karsatoa and Toban and what they had to say about the God of heaven. These people had their own gods which they worshiped, and they were very angry with Karsatoa and Toban because they were telling everyone about the God in heaven and about Jesus Christ. They were so angry that they threatened to kill Karsatoa and Toban if they continued preaching, but Karsatoa and Toban said, “We cannot stop. We have to go to this island, but we will go at night. We will paddle quietly past the hostile people and get around their island in darkness and then everything will be okay.”

Karsatoa and Toban had prayer before they left, then at the front of their canoe they put a lantern that gave just enough light to light the path ahead of them so they could see if there were any logs in the way, and they started paddling. When they came close to the island where the people were who had threatened to kill them, they saw something off to the side of their canoe??the biggest sting ray they had ever seen! It was lying in the shallow water near the coast of the island. They stopped paddling to watch what the sting ray would do. It wasn’t moving but was just floating softly in the water. Once Karsatoa and Toban had stopped paddling, however, they heard something. They heard the swish, swish of paddles moving through the water. People from the hostile island were in their canoes and paddling out! Somehow they knew Karsatoa and Toban were coming by. Karsatoa and Toban heard swish, swish over here, swish, swish over there, and swish, swish behind them! They were being surrounded by enemies!

Do you know what happened next? There was a big noise behind them! The sting ray had aroused to activity! Karsatoa and Toban bent down in their canoe just in time, for the sting ray flew out of the water and over them, knocking off the lantern in the process, and landed in the water in front of the canoe with a big splash! Then the sting ray slithered under the canoe, raised it up on its back and carried the canoe safely through the wicked people. They could not even throw their spears at Karsatoa and Toban because the lantern had been knocked overboard and they could not see them!

Karsatoa and Toban had a certain fear in the sense that they knew the threats of the enemy island were real, so they did their best to stay safe and traveled by night. They were not deterred from serving God, and they protected themselves the best way they knew how. God, who has promised to never to leave us or forsake us, sent a sting ray to help get Karsatoa and Toban past their enemies. Now, I do not understand how God can maneuver sting rays in such a manner, but he has ways we cannot begin to understand, and if we will just trust him and do what he asks us to do, he will protect and help us. He called Karsatoa and Toban to share his truth with the people on neighboring islands, and he called Herman to be a preacher, even though Herman at first could not even speak in front of six people!

God changed Herman to be a good speaker, God kept Toban and Karsatoa safe as they worked for him, and he will help us too if we will just be willing to do his will.