by Heidi Baker
Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38 (NKJV)
My amazing, encouraging father used to tell me I would one day attend Stanford University like he did. We later found out that I had severe dyslexia and could barely read, so I was put in remedial classes. Teachers told me I would never attend university, and my classmates mocked and tormented me. I felt incredibly stupid. Stanford was certainly out of question, which must have been a great disappointment for my dad, even though he was never unkind about it. After I came to faith at age sixteen, God miraculously rewired my brain, and I could suddenly read with ease! Pushing past low expectations, I was accepted to and graduated from a private Christian university.
Another part of my father’s story was that he became an atheist while at Stanford. No one could answer his questions about God to his satisfaction. I dreamed that someday I might share the true love of God at this university, and when I did receive an opportunity to speak at Stanford years later, I was overwhelmed with the conviction that God can do anything with anyone. Then the Iris board asked me if I wanted to attend a professional training course for CEOs of non-profit organisations at none other than Stanford. As intimidated as I was when I applied, I also knew that nothing is impossible with God. When Laura, my assistant, handed my
acceptance letter to me, I broke into tears. I felt like an astounding miracle that I would have the opportunity to study at my father’s alma mater.
Having been taunted and bullied in school affected me. Even after getting a PhD, I still felt stupid. If anyone commented on my intelligence, I felt miserable and questioned myself. I battled fears that I would be mocked at a prestigious university like Stanford. What if I had to spell something without the help of spell check while I was in front of other CEOs?
Despite my fears, I understood that God led me there, and He would help me shine for Him. Prayer counsellors
also helped me pray about ways I had been mocked and belittled. The Lord spoke to my heart that He had given me a keen mind. I sobbed like a baby and finally stopped believing the lie.
Once I overcame the lie that I was stupid, I developed a strong desire to help others, particularly poverty-stricken Northern Mozambicans, who believed they could never go to university. What if the Lord could open the door for them to study at Stanford? To make a long story short, four of our students earned scholarships to attend a summer study program at Stanford. Two of these students were among my very first elementary school class, which I had started under a baobab tree after the Lord called me to build a university. Sending them to Stanford was an astounding experience for all of us. Academics may have led my father away from faith, but our Mozambican students boldly shared their faith at that same university. Later in life, I led my father to faith. Another miracle. The whole story feels like one impossible dream coming to pass after another. It was and is beyond anything I could have hoped or imagined.
Prayer:
"God, nothing is impossible for You. All Your promises are yes and amen. They are not yes and no.
Help me believe and walk in everything You’ve said about me.
Be it done unto me as You have said."
Action Steps
Don’t strive, trust God with your promises: “Yahweh is the one who makes a way in the sea, a pathway in the mighty waters” (Isaiah 43:16).
Worship God and keep going: “Don’t yield to fear. All you need to do is to keep on believing” (Mark 5:36).
Multiply your victory by helping others secure their victory: “Thank God for giving us victory as conquerors through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
This article is an excerpt from the book, God’s Got This: 40 Devotions of Courageous Faith. It has been reproduced with permission from the author, Heidi Baker.
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