I think the last time I did this was in March! I can’t believe it’s been that long since I talked about movies, as watching movies is one of my favorite things to do. So anyway my friend has been telling me to watch this movie, Breakthrough, which came out during Easter, and I’ve just been dancing around it, until this past weekend. Then I had a cry fest while watching it; the story was so emotional but very powerful, and I want to share some lessons I learned while watching this incredible movie, which has such a powerful message.
This is a film by Devon Franklin who is behind movies like Jumping the Broom, Miracles from Heaven, and The Karate Kid. It was also produced by NBA star Stephen Curry, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios. The star of this incredible film was Chrissy Metz, one of the co-stars of NBC’s hit show—This is Us.
Chrissy’s character, Joyce Smith, and her husband adopted a baby boy named John from Guatemala. While growing up, John dealt with a lot of abandonment issues, which came from the fact that he was adopted. As a little Hispanic boy, who grew up in a predominately white neighborhood, it was hard for him to fit in, so he pushed everyone away, including his adoptive parents. He could not understand why his birth mother had abandoned him.
While in high school, he had made some friends and asked his parents if he could spend the weekend at one of his friend’s house, and they obliged. At least they were happy to see him come out of his shell, since the only time they saw him do that was when he was playing basketball for his high school. During one cold winter day in Missouri, the boys came out to play on the ice. The lake had frozen over, so they were sliding all over it, and taking pictures. An older man, who spotted the boys from his restaurant, came out screaming for them to leave the ice, because of the dangers of it breaking open, and the possibility of them drowning, but they paid him no mind.
A Turn of Events
Joyce was busy at home reading her bible when she decided to send her son a
message, just to check on him. John received the message, but in the process of responding, the unthinkable happened. The ice split open, and the boys fell right through it, going all the way to the bottom of the lake. Now remember this is during winter, the tragedy happened in January of 2015. The boys struggled to come up to the surface, but the ice kept breaking, anytime they tried to hang on to it, and it kept cutting them. They were not only at the risk of getting hypothermia but also drowning.
The man who warned them about the dangers spotted them, and immediately called the police. Two of the boys managed to get to the surface, and John was holding on to one of their feet. But that person mistakenly kicked him, and he sank to the bottom of the lake. The police and first-responders got there within seven minutes of getting the call and were able to get the two boys to the shore. Two other guys went into the lake and began to search for John. One of them said this was going to be a recovery and not a rescue, because of how long John had been reported to be in the icy cold water.
They searched for a couple of minutes and were about to give up hope when one of them heard a voice telling him to go back and keep searching. Then he immediately fished John out. That part reminded me of the story of Peter in the Bible when he toiled all night trying to catch some fish and caught nothing. Then Jesus said for him to cast his net one more time, and soon as he did, he was able to catch so many fishes, that even the net began to break.
Peter trembling at the feet of Jesus, told Christ to leave him alone because he was a sinful man. He had not experienced such a miracle in his lifetime. Sometimes God does certain things in our lives, to let us know that He exists, because the first responder who heard that mysterious voice, did not believe in God, but he obeyed the voice he heard. He had initially thought it was his boss or co-worker who spoke to him, but both denied it.
Faith Tested
Of course, the boy had been in cold water for a while, without any breathing happening so he was not responding to any CPR activity. They rushed him to the hospital and called his parents. By the time his mom got there, the doctors had tried all that they could to revive him, but they couldn’t. They weren’t getting any pulse and had pronounced him dead. He was clinically dead for one hour. They advised his mother to go in and say her goodbyes, but she could not believe the mountain that was in front of her.
Immediately she put her hands on the feet of her son and screamed for the Holy Spirit to help her. She figured that since the Bible had said in Romans 8:11—“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” So she called on the Spirit of God for help. As soon as she did that, she heard a beep on the ICU monitor and started screaming for the nurses to come back in. They were able to identify a faint pulse and then airlifted him to a specialist hospital. There the doctor explained to Mr. and Mrs. Smith that their son was in a very serious state, and even if he made it out alive, his life was never going to be the same.
“Let us hold fast to our profession of faith because He who has promised is faithful.”
You see, Mrs. Smith never gave up on her son’s life, regardless of what the doctors were saying to her. In fact, she warned everyone not to speak anything negative around herself or her son. She believed God could bring back her son, even if he was on life support, but at the same time, she took the same stance the three Hebrew boys took when they were about to be tossed into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar.
The boys knew God could deliver them but they also said, even if He doesn’t for some reason, we will still trust Him and not bow down to an idol. Joyce surrendered her son’s life to God. And when they made the decision, to take him off all the medication and equipment which helped him breathe, he opened up his eyes, and muttered this word—“mum.”
The medical team was blown away! They had no explanation for his recovery. The doctor who worked on him said these words—“a son died, his mother prayed and he came back to life.” John woke up, exactly three days after the terrible incident, and made a quick recovery, and returned to school, about one month after all hell broke loose.
Lessons Learned
1) Hold God’s word at face value—the Bible isn’t some kind of riddle or enigma. If the word says by His stripes you are healed, then best believe that if you hold on to God’s word, you will receive your healing. Or if God promises us anything through His word, we know that if we have faith, and we hold fast to his promises, they will come to pass; He is faithful, He doesn’t tell lies, and His words don’t return to Him void.
2) Who you surround yourself with is key— in order for you to win a battle, you must surround yourself with the right people. Joyce took no prisoners; you could not speak a negative word around her or her child. In fact, at some point, her husband felt she kept on lashing out at people who were trying to help her and be supportive, but she knew the battle she was facing. She could not afford to lose a child, after suffering two miscarriages at the beginning of her marriage, and then waiting 17 years, before she and her husband made the decision to adopt. Her pastor was also by their side throughout the process.
3) Immerse yourself in the word of God, just as Ephesians 6 says, so when the day of battle comes, you will still be left standing—Joyce was such a woman of faith. She belonged to a small group in church, and they held weekly bible studies. When she was faced with this opposition, she was so full of the word of God, that she knew if she called upon His name, He was going to hear and save her son’s life. If we don’t get lost in the word of God, we will not be able to fight against the enemy and his evil plans. Thank God we don’t get to fight on our own. All God needs from us is our faith in Him. But faith wouldn’t just appear if you haven’t been building it over the days, months, or years.
This story is a true-life story (our fave!) by the way, and it made national headlines in the US, as God restored life into this young man’s body. Now many have come to know Christ, because of one mother’s unshakable faith. I hope I have been able to convince you to watch this amazing film by Franklin Entertainment, and for you to find out why it is a movie with a message. But first, make sure you have loads of tissue paper by your side because the waterworks would come!
The movie is available on Amazon. See the trailer below.
Video courtesy of YouTube
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About The Author: Evi Idoghor is a Christian, writer, and content creator on Letstalknationblog.com. She is a chemical engineering graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Consumed by her love for writing and desire to effect change, she launched her online platform––Let’s Talk Nation––to tap into her creativity and start meaningful conversations that would make a difference around the world.
Most of her writing has been influenced by her time spent in America, where she lived for about 11 years. Also, she lived in Nigeria and South Korea and currently loves traveling the world while learning about other fascinating cultures. You can find her on all social media platforms with @eviidoghor.