Having spent the last four weeks polishing the final draft of my memoir before sending it back to the publisher, I decided to watch the DVD of “The Hiding Place,” directed by my late friend and mentor, James F. Collier, whom I mention in the memoir.
Jim, as he was affectionately called, had the kind of Christian film career to which, I believe, God had called me. Jim had directed a string of successful feature films for Billy Graham’s Worldwide Pictures, that were instrumental in inspiring and leading many people to Christ.
Hearing my testimony of how I became a Christian through a movie, “Angel in Ebony,” and how I left my career as a pastor to become a Christian filmmaker, Jim took me under his wings when I was a graduate film student at UCLA, and was always available to critique my scripts, advise me, and encourage me as a young filmmaker.
I tried for several years to find investors for one of my films, and when an investor finally promised to put up $1.5 million to make the film, it was largely due to Jim’s help and presence during my presentation.
But when the deal eventually fell through, I was so deeply disappointed and depressed, that I questioned my calling and considered quitting filmmaking.
It was at this low point in my life that God used Jim to bring a special word of encouragement to me. Though I don’t have Jim’s exact words recorded, his advice went something along these lines:
“My brother,” he said (he always called me brother), “one of the things that I have observed in life and in reading the Bible, is that God doesn’t always call us to be successful in the way the world views success, but he always calls us to be obedient. As a follower of Christ, you are successful when you are obedient to him. And in that obedience, you’ll have to wait on his timing for things to happen, not your time schedule; and in learning to wait and trust in God’s timing, you’ll learn patience.
“Don’t despair when God seems slow in acting. Just continue to obey him in your daily life. Be patient, and wait for him to act in his perfect timing, for he knows best. You might have to go through some tough times, but stay the course, be faithful, and trust him.
“Moses had to wait forty years tending sheep in the desert before God called him to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. And David had to wait twenty-three years after God anointed him as king before he became king over all of Israel, and some of those years were spent as a fugitive, hiding in caves from Saul who wanted to kill him.
“So, my brother, wait, be patient, be prepared for a long journey, and above all, trust and obey the Lord through whatever difficulties he might lead you.”
Jim’s words of advice and encouragement have remained with me.
In May 1991, I received news that Jim had died at the age of sixty-two. He and his wife, Jean, had moved up to their ranch in Creston, north east of San Francisco, and while he was checking his property one night, fell down an embankment where he was severely injured. He lingered in the hospital for a few days, but died within a week.
I was greatly saddened by his death, and remembered clearly our meeting at which he gave me such encouragement when I was at one of my lowest points of my life: Wait. Be patient. Be prepared for the long journey. Trust and obey Christ as he leads through the difficulties of the long journey.
That message can also be found in Jim’s movie, “The Hiding Place,” the true story of Corrie ten Boom, who survived the Nazi concentration camps after her entire family was killed for hiding Jews in their home in Holland.
I encourage you to get a copy of the DVD and watch this very inspirational film. Or you can click the links below and watch it on your computer in the following order:
Trailer: watch?v=YWg47sLwlHk&feature=related
Clip 1: watch?v=hhVC9q_ZlDs&feature=related
Clip 2:watch?v=yRgD4z8F3rA&feature=related
Clip 3: watch?v=XoFwNeiAm04&feature=related
Clip 4: watch?v=rNG-L7wIibA&feature=related
Clip 5: watch?v=d-FYG-nTGx8&feature=related
Clip 6: watch?v=SJopT76slTw&feature=related
Clip 7: watch?v=VyXe4txpt9I&feature=related
Clip 8: watch?v=yKbIpfW3fa8&feature=related
Clip 9: watch?v=Qm_ruUyXThA&feature=related
Clip 10: watch?v=wHc_jmRXsMU&feature=related
Clip 11: watch?v=-EN3MlRBGHM&feature=related
Clip 12: watch?v=uj6M-AxQATA&feature=related
Clip 13:watch?v=xjRCuXoZUrA&feature=related
Clip 14:watch?v=aKHRVl5QMa4&feature=related
Clip 15:watch?v=kXYV435Fe3U&feature=related
Thank you for these encouraging words. You are very fortunate to have had such a positive influence in your life and I am always moved when I hear stories about the James Collier’s, the Derrick Garland Coy’s, and others who significantly impact people’s lives!
Many blessings to you Sir!
Audwin
Thank you for another great post!
I do understand waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting on the Lord to fulfill His promises. It’s in this waiting that we die daily to every one of our creative ideas to make the promises come true without the help of a miraculous God. I like to think of us waiting ones as potatoes being baked in an oven. When we are finally done, God smashes us into mashed potatoes. He doesn’t much like lumps in His finished products. Then all of a sudden, the promise comes true and everyone says we’re tasty, overnight sensations. But we will remember all the burial grounds where we died and were buried and then miraculously resurrected for another day.
So, brother, your promise will still come true. Your answer lies in a vision which the Lord will soon bring to you. It’s in a way that you could never figure out, but every door will open to you and it will be an easy journey from beginning to end. The Lord’s reasoning for withholding His promise was not so much for this first film, but for the ones which will follow. You are now ready to receive the creative ideas from heaven.
What a touching story, thank you for sharing. It is so relevant and so timely and may I add a confirmation for me. Waiting is not an easy thing to do especially when you know the Lord has shown you your future, but wait we must. I think I will be reading this for a few more days until it really sinks in. Thank you and God bless.
I so enjoyed this blog, Derrick because, I, too, had a connection with Jim. He was the elder who interviewed me for membership in 1972. I was really scared and didn’t know what to expect. What I always remembered was how seriously he took this process and I didn’t have the feeling at all that it was just a “rubber stamp” sort of thing. He made me articulate my faith, why I wanted to join the church, and my understanding of all we had experienced in the ten weeks of the membership classes. Later on, my mother who was Wedding Directress, did the wedding of his son. I, too, was deeply saddened when he died and so tragically. He still had so much to offer. His advice to you was gold!
This entry affected me very much, Derrick. His words to you many years ago have hit me exactly where I am today. I didn’t realize how much I needed this encouragement until I read it, so thank you so much!!