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Chapter Five

Naming Your Wall

By now, I’m hoping you have already made up your mind that a life without Faith Breakthroughs is a terrible waste of God’s blessings. It is a life behind walls of our own making, walls that hinder us from the very best that God has in store for us. These walls are stacked with the bricks of mistrust, low expectations, despair, and doubt. But it is not enough to talk about the general idea of the unhealthy mind-sets that hinder us. The walls in our lives need to be named so we don’t forget they are there and so we remain focused on addressing the heart of the problem.

Recognizing your wall puts you on the path toward your breakthrough. On the other hand, I have never known anyone to experience a Faith Breakthrough without first acknowledging the wall.

Remember the wall in Berlin? In all, there were about 45,000 different sections of that infamous structure. I’m sure we humans have created at least that many walls from the unhealthy attitudes in our own lives.

For example, I’ve encountered people who are trapped behind Walls of Doubt. There is a Wall of Bitterness that has ruined countless relationships, and a Wall of Preoccupation with Past Hurts or Dysfunction that can seem to move in front of every positive step we try to make in our relationships. There are Walls of Pride and Anger that seem to never go away. And Walls of Unforgiveness that seem so high as to be unscalable. I’ve witnessed Walls of Unfeeling Ritual that rob people of fresh, genuine faith. I have seen Walls of Uncaring Rebellion that were built intentionally brick by brick. And I have never seen any of them come down by accident.

Declaring War on the Wall

By the time President Ronald Reagan arrived in Berlin in 1987, the infamous Wall had already been standing for over a quarter century. Of all the thousands of speeches that have been given in modern history, very few have been as history-changing as the one given that year near the Berlin Wall.

That is quite a statement, considering all of the great speeches that have been made through the years:

• Abraham Lincoln’s famous words of comfort near the Gettysburg battlefield on November 19, 1863: “Four score and seven years ago . . .”

• Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inaugural address in 1933, and a borrowed line made famous: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

• British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, during World War II, using his gravelly voice and indomitable spirit to rally his countrymen to keep on fighting, no matter the odds: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

• Reverend Martin Luther King’s resonating voice, on a steaming hot summer day in our nation’s capital, fanning the flames of the Civil Rights Movement: “I have a dream!”

A historian might see that as the Speech Hall of Fame, but it would most certainly be incomplete. Among the most powerful words ever spoken pertained to the infamous Berlin Wall, in a simple speech given on April 21, 1987 . . . over dinner . . . to a dozen people . . . by Ingeborg Elz.

You recall the words spoken by this German housewife, right? The unforgettable words “get rid of this wall.”

If you’re not quite sure how Ingeborg Elz got into a short list of the world’s most memorable speech-givers—and if her words sound eerily similar to those spoken by someone slightly more famous in front of the Berlin Wall that same year—there’s a reason to hear the rest of the story. You don’t have to be famous to utter powerful words about walls.

As you probably know, all presidents hire speechwriters to help them craft their most important speeches. In April 1987, Peter Robinson, President Reagan’s favorite speechwriter, had been sent ahead of the president to West Berlin to prepare for a speech Reagan was to give at the Brandenburg Gate on June 12.

The speech was to take place on the 750th anniversary of the city of Berlin. Robinson traveled to Germany with an advance team of logistical experts and Secret Service agents two months ahead of time as part of the usual detachment of people sent ahead of a president’s arrival in a foreign city.

In his outstanding book, How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life, Robinson offered insight into the writing of the Berlin Wall speech. He shared how he was at a dinner party with a group of about a dozen Berliners. His hosts were Dieter and Ingeborg Elz, he a banker and she a stay-at-home mother. 4

To help Robinson better understand the mood of Berliners as he drafted his speech, some friends of his had asked their friends, the Elzes, if they would be kind enough to host a dinner for him. They were asked to gather together people from several different walks of life who lived in Berlin and then follow dinner with a time of discussion about their city. The dinner included businessmen, academics, students, and homemakers.

After dinner, Robinson launched the discussion time by sharing that earlier in the day he had spoken with a high-ranking American diplomat who lived in Berlin. When Robinson asked this diplomat about what Berliners thought about the Wall, he was told, “Oh, the people of Berlin have made a kind of accommodation with the wall over the years.” After sharing this comment with the dinner guests, Robinson asked, “Is it true? Have you gotten used to it?”

Robinson recounts the long silence and then how one man sitting near him raised an arm and pointed. “My sister lives twenty miles in that direction,” he said. “I haven’t seen her in more than two decades. Do you think I can get used to that?” Others shared similar opinions, none remotely close to the view of the American diplomat.

That’s when their petite hostess turned beet red with anger, made a fist with her hand, and pounded it into her other palm. “If this man Gorbachev is serious with his talk of glasnost and perestroika,” she said, “he can prove it. He can get rid of this wall!”

As we look back through history from a modern perspective, that statement may seem obvious, but it wasn’t necessarily the case when those words were spoken. Somebody had to stand up and point out the heart of the problem: it wasn’t political confusion or lack of communication. In fact, the wall that was really holding them back was the physical wall that stood in Berlin. And Ingeborg Elz was the one who changed history by speaking that truth with conviction.

She spoke with such force, such spontaneity, and such heartfelt passion that her words made the rest of the discussion seem trivial in comparison. And it was at that dramatic moment that the speechwriter Robinson drew together the message he knew President Reagan needed to say. Robinson changed her words slightly, and the speech became, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

However, even then, those words were almost never spoken.

Robinson wrote and submitted his speech to President Reagan. He made sure to tell the president that people in both West and East Germany would be listening to his words. And he recalls Reagan cocking his head as they talked and saying, “I really like the part about tearing down the wall.” But then the speech was circulated among officials in the state department and National Security Council.

Some of the printable feedback received regarding the powerful phrase was that it was “naïve,” would “raise false hopes,” and was “needlessly provocative.” As a result, people with a much higher pay grade than a speechwriter submitted their own draft to the president, minus the troublesome words “tear down this wall.”

Robinson recalls seven different versions of the speech being drafted and discussed before the final one was approved and handed to Reagan at the Berlin airport. Not one of those revisions, including the last one Reagan was handed in the limousine on the way to the Berlin Wall, had the famous words in them. Yet, on the way to the site, President Reagan decided that the majority would not sway him. Like it or not, he was putting back in Robinson’s suggestion—and Ingeborg Elz’s slightly modified words.

In front of thousands of people at the Wall, and by radio and television to millions on the East German side of the Wall listening to him, he said, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

And of course, the rest is history.

President Reagan’s speech may not have been the catalyst that brought down the Wall. Many historians contend that there were far more important forces at work in the Eastern Bloc that were already causing the politics of the Iron Curtain to erode. However, Reagan’s speech dared to do something that no one with his power and authority had yet been willing to do: address the problem head-on. To name the heart of the problem. That is always the first step in seeing a wall come down.

Start by Putting a Name to Your Wall

It’s time to honestly write down what is holding you back from God’s best today, to put a name to your wall.

Why a name? Two reasons. First, putting a name to your wall paints a target on it. By giving it a name (a Wall of Anger, or Fear, or Doubt, or Shame, or Pride) you can begin to draw on specific Scriptures and promises that speak to your specific situation, helping you find promises that can begin battering down your wall.

And second, putting a name to your wall proclaims clearly that you are ready for a Faith Breakthrough—which is why I’m going to ask you to name yours now on the next page.

When I was trying to identify my own wall, I asked three honest questions:

• Is there something in my life—a response to circumstances, an attitude about life, or a decision I’ve made—that is contrary to what God would want for me?

• When I spend time in prayer with the Lord, is there a specific element of my life, heart, or feelings that keeps coming to mind?

• Are there poor decisions I have made in recent days that were rooted in an unhealthy mind-set?

When I asked those questions, the answer was clear. The wall that has held me back most often is the Wall of Fear, especially in light of our struggles with Lily. It’s sometimes overwhelming to me that I can’t keep her from any of the hard times that may be lurking around the corner. Lily’s struggles are not my wall, but the fear that I feel has the danger to completely hold me back in my faith.

So I’ve given my wall a name and put a date below it. I’d like to invite you to do the same right now:

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The wall that holds me back is the Wall of

Date__________

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Or, right after you pray about it, ask the Spirit of God to help you recognize your unseen wall. And if, after thinking and praying, you still can’t come up with a single wall you’re facing, then a wise thing to do is talk to your spouse, a close sibling, or a best friend. Ask them, “Do you see any unhealthy mind-sets in my life that you think are holding me back from God’s best?” That kind of question, asked in humility, can be a tremendous help in isolating and naming your wall.

I need to be honest with you. This exercise was very hard for me, and it may be for you as well. I have spent all of my adult life sharing God’s promises with others, but it was only when I was willing to confess the areas where my mind-set was holding me back that I really understood how precious those promises can be. Medicine doesn’t do any good until there is a diagnosis and it is applied.

In my case, when it was (and is) my daughter’s life and future at stake, I had to make an extremely difficult admission: “Lord, I am scared to death. I’m terrified that things aren’t going to work out for her. And worst of all, I fear whether you will do anything to reverse what I dread in the future.”

Those admissions may sound brutal, or even heretical, to you. But without naming my wall, the rest of this journey would have been a big charade. I cannot overstate the importance of being completely transparent before God as you personalize the wall. The rest of the book and the rest of your life depend on it.

As a part of naming your wall, I’d also like to invite you to start mapping your breakthrough with your own personal account at www.FaithBreakthroughs.com. When you open an account, you’re given your own section of the virtual wall we’ve built that you can see when you visit. You can choose to have the words you write be private. You can also choose to let other people in the Faith Breakthrough community see your wall and breakthrough thoughts as a way to encourage them as they trust God for a Faith Breakthrough.

Whether you go online or not, it’s time to admit to yourself something God already knows: the name of the wall that’s been holding you back.

First Corinthians 14:8 says, “If the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?”

Putting a name to your wall is like sounding the battle cry, “This wall must come down!”

Now that you know your enemy, it’s time to arm yourself for a Faith Breakthrough. And of all things, it begins with the power of a most unlikely weapon. . . .