YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

A 72 year-old blind man stood tall on the streets of Rio de Janeiro singing with a tin cup in his hand. Some who passed by put a coin in his cup. Other stared at him with pity or with disdain.

A minister passing by had been studying John 9 and decided to talk with him. He asked if he was blind from birth, but learned his blindness was from an accident. His eyes were missing from their sockets. He was single, living with his parents and seven siblings. After getting acquainted, the minister asked if he was hungry and he was. So the minister went to the nearest eatery to get him a sandwich and something cold to drink.

When he returned, the blind man was still singing. What in the world did he have to sing about? He was a sightless, penniless hobo who had a song in his heart. The minister concluded that he was singing from contentment. Somehow this eyeless pauper had discovered a candle called satisfaction, and it glowed in his dark world.

After reaching the other side of the Red Sea and seeing Pharaoh and his chariots and armies drown in it, Moses and the Israelites sang a song to God. This song may have been from contentment, but it was a song of praise to God and rejoicing for triumphing over Pharaoh's chariots and armies. This song is in Exodus 15:

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
He has thrown both horse and rider into the sea.
The Lord is my strength, my song, and my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him.
He is my father's God - I will exalt him.
The Lord is a warrior - Yes, Jehovah is his name.
He has overthrown Pharaoh's chariots and armies.
Drowning them in the sea.
The famous Egyptian captains are dead beneath the waves.
The water covers them.
They went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;
It dashes the enemy to pieces.
In the greatness of your majesty
You overthrew all those who rose against you.
You sent forth your anger, and it consumed them as fire consumes straw.
At the blast of your breath the waters divided!
They stood as solid walls to hold the seas apart.
The enemy said, I will chase after them,
Catch up with them, destroy them.
I will cut them apart with my sword and divide the captured booty.

The song continues with telling the events of God drowning the Egyptians. It tells about how God, in His loving kindness, was taking them to the land He had promised.

Then Miriam, the sister of Moses, took a timbrel and led the women in a dance. Miriam began singing:

"Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.
The horse and rider have been drowned in the sea."

Moses led the Israelites from the Red Sea. They moved out into the wilderness of Shur and were there three days without water. They made it to Marah, and they couldn't drink the water because it was bitter. This must have been very disappointing. But this tested their attitudes. Would they trust God and believe Moses? No, they turned against Moses. "Must we die of thirst?" they demanded. Does getting thirsty give us the right to turn against God's leader? Does it give us the right to accuse and complain?

Think about it. The Israelites had seen such mighty miracles as the ten plagues God brought on Egypt to set them free. They had seen God part the Red Sea. They had walked through it on dry land. This was something to sing and dance about. But with a little human discomfort, all that changed to complaining.

Moses cried out to God for help and God came through. He showed Moses a tree that, if he put it in the bitter water, it would become sweet. Should God have the right to ask something from the Israelites after He'd taken care of them? He said, "If you will listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and obey it, and do what is right, then I will not make you suffer the disease I send on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord who heals you." That's fair enough, isn't it?

Trials, adversities, problems, and hardships are all a part of life and are bound to come. The question is, how are you going to handle them? Will you stand tall and sing with contentment as the blind man did in Rio de Janeiro? Or will you forget God's blessings, begin to complain, and stop obeying Him? God is looking for young men and women whose faith will endure to the end.