The Divine Driving Hand

By Dr. Shoukry Soliman

The basic principle of this book is if anyone will submit their life to Christ, they will have success, stability in life, security, and a wonderful future. Dr. Soliman sets the essential steps to fulfill one's dreams, no matter what poor condition you find yourself in. This is not only guaranteed because it is written or read but based on actual circumstances. The author states the foundations for success based on his daily experiences in his life of eighty-plus years. He started his life from the bottom, penniless, until he reached the top by the powerful hand of God. Enjoy the journey as he digs into his personal life, family dynamics, human relationships, and children's upbringing and brings all under the umbrella of God and His plan for everyone.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798891303270

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The Divine Driving Hand

Dr. Shoukry Soliman

ISBN 979-8-89130-326-3 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89130-328-7 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-89130-327-0 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Dr. Shoukry Soliman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

Life's Building Blocks

CHAPTER TWO

Driving Force for Success

CHAPTER THREE

Setting His Plan

CHAPTER FOUR

The Driving Force for Endurance and Success

CHAPTER FIVE

The Training Period

CHAPTER SIX

The Scheme of the Evil One

CHAPTER SEVEN

The Healing Process

CHAPTER EIGHT

Training for His Call

CHAPTER NINE

The Provider

CHAPTER TEN

The Call

About the Author

Channels only, blessed Master,

But with all Thy wondrous pow'r

Flowing through us, Thou canst use us

Every day, and every hour.

These words of the hymn writer Mary Maxwell, from the year 1900, are what came to my mind as I read this fascinating account of the life and ministry of Dr. Shoukry Soliman.

Dr. Soliman is a man who views God's gifting and blessings to be not for him alone but to be shared with others in the gospel advance of God's kingdom. His story of humble beginnings in Egypt to the present day describes a life of faith lived soli gloria Deo—to the glory of God alone.

Reading this story, I have been personally challenged to live by faith, to rejoice in the blessings God gives me but to hold them loosely, and to be generous and ready to share (1 Tim. 6:18) so that the gospel good news may reach the unreached. I pray that you will be challenged and encouraged in the same way.

Dr. Sam Harbin

Chair of the Bible & Theology Department

Lancaster Bible College/Capital Seminary & Graduate School

Dr. Shoukry Soliman is a godly and gifted servant of God. He has sought to trust in God and honor Him with the stewardship of dentistry and with his ongoing work as an evangelist of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His memoirs are both honest and encouraging. He candidly shares his personal experiences of loss, pain, and temptation, as well as his interpersonal disappointments with those whom he trusted, whose lives were marked by selfishness and unkindness. However, he also shares how God used the adversity to deepen Him in his walk with the Lord. Shoukry also shares how God faithfully and miraculously provided for him financially throughout his life. In addition, God has used Him in countless opportunities to preach the gospel of Christ and to minister God's love to those with physical needs both in America and abroad. May Shoukry's story be a challenge and encouragement to the believers in Jesus Christ.

—Douglas Finkbeiner, PhD

Professor, Author and MABS Director, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, PA teaching undergraduate and graduate students how to interpret and communicate the Bible.

What an amazing story of God's grace in the life of one of his children. Dr. Soliman's life story will astound and encourage you as you read of his experience walking by faith throughout his life and through many trials and tests. God's goodness and blessing is clearly on display in this quick-paced autobiography!

—Mark Farnham, PhD

Professor, Autohor, and MA in Christian Apologetics Program Director, Lancaster Bible College, Lancaster, PA teaching for over twenty years at the undergraduate and seminary level.

Also Founder and Director of Apologetics for the Church, a local church training ministry dedicated to equipping the average church member to effectively defend and share the Christian faith.

For my mother who planted in my heart the Word of God since my early childhood.

For my secretary who stood by my side tirelessly encouraging, supporting and serving the Lord with me.

For my academic professors who taught me fundamental biblical preaching; "Sola Scriptura" not deviating from the Scriptures.

CHAPTER ONE

Life's Building Blocks

What a wonderful and honorable life it is to be an American citizen enjoying freedom and all of the opportunities for success and to fulfill your dreams. Before I came to America as a young man about sixty years ago, I had never experienced freedom or human value.

It was my dream to have all the choices to build a future life with success so that I could honor the Lord with my own money, helping those who are in need and giving back to the country, the USA, which opened the gates of success and hope for me.

I was a successful dentist in Egypt with four practices in different locations. But now as an American citizen, I realize I have enjoyed the freedom and great opportunities for even greater success. I feel indebted to this great country. It was ordained by the Lord for me to leave everything behind in Egypt and to locate me in the USA as He leads me.

I am quite sure the Lord had the upper hand in this serious step, but there are many factors that have a great impact on our life and future. Most of all is the way a child is brought up and how parents deal with them from early childhood. All these factors shape and form most of the character and behavior of every human being. It has the greatest impact on the individual's life. It sets the foundation for success anywhere he/she goes.

Like everyone, I did not know what the future would hold, but I had the tools and the foundation that could provide for success and guarantee a great future for me as I was a young man. The main reason I am writing this book is to show how to have guaranteed guidance for success, peace, riches, and happiness as well as a long, satisfying, happy life by trusting in God first and foremost. As in Isaiah 26:3, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Jean Piaget, a great pioneer of developmental psychology, made an important claim that an individual may inherit certain tendencies that affect his personality or behavior. Also according to Erik Erikson, an individual may inherit certain tendencies or behaviors that are the central theme of the personality development in adolescence and early adulthood.

The early experiences of a child within the family, particularly speaking during the first five years of life, are the primary determining factors of his development later in life. This means that parents have the greatest impact and influence on the children in the first five years of their life. There is nothing more critical and essential than bringing up a child in a loving, healthy atmosphere to have this child grow into adulthood with good traits, attitudes, character, and confidence, and most of all, to fear the Lord and follow His word and commandments.

I was born and raised in Egypt in a Christian family teaching me these principles with a Christian upbringing and biblical teaching. It had a great impact on me and caused me to gain confidence and to strive for learning and success and perseverance. The teaching of my devoted Christian father and my compassionate mother encouraged me to strive for progress and success to reach the utmost goals in my profession, my practices, my missionary work, and whatever my hand touches.

No one can emphasize the effect of the parents' impact on children as I experienced early in my life. This is not a new discovery. From the beginning, the Lord demanded of Moses to advise the Israelites, before His promise to them to enter Canaan, the promised land, to teach their children the moral and right way to live, as shown in Deuteronomy 6:6–9:

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

For this reason, King Solomon in Proverbs 22:6 says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Our country was established on Judeo-Christian principles and ethics, such as prayer at the beginning of the day in school classrooms and the pledge of allegiance being repeated every morning as devotion to God and our country. However, since they started to abolish prayer in schools and let the children decide which way they should go, how many teens are getting pregnant, doing drugs, and disregarding moral ethics? How many times do we read in the news teenagers have killed their parents, classmates, or teachers? Who is in charge—who is responsible—for their early corruption or immoral behavior? Is it the schools' responsibility or parents'? Where is the love, care, and morals that their parents should implant in their early childhood and provide them with love and kindness in rearing them? If they do not get it at home, they will not get it anywhere else.

If the parents fail to provide love, care, and continued instruction, then the result will be corruption. It starts at an early stage in school and continues into adulthood with disregard for any discipline or moral ethics until it becomes the style of their whole life. This is what is happening now among young adults with riots, drugs, killing, burning of churches, etc. They have no value for human life. We should not blame them for their behavior because we are responsible for allowing this kind of conduct and behavior. Are we not the ones who stopped prayer in schools? Are we not the ones who stopped teaching our children devotion to God and to submit to His authority?

When I reflected on what I had accomplished and all my achievements with gain and success that I attained during my life, I realized that there must have been a strong hand that set plans in front of me. In other words, His word that was implanted in my heart had not only the greatest but also the only impact on my daily conduct spiritually, socially, and academically. I learned how to practice what I have learned to encourage and build up people's hope, life, success, and most of all, bring them to Christ. While I was young, I did not know why they had to teach me these things, but I know now how fundamental it is in our daily life. In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps (Proverbs 16:9).

It is not my intention to write a preaching message, not at all, but my desire is to bring up a new healthy generation that is ambitious and successful. My goal is to encourage them on the right path for progress and a successful future. Through my experience in eighty years, I can add hope and encouragement from my academic study and my life's observations with success and happiness. I realized that the Lord has had the upper hand in everything I did and also for His children and their future if they are willing to trust in Him. Matthew 6:33 says, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

When I look back at what I have accomplished whether in Egypt or the USA, He provided for me success and prosperity with four thriving practices from nothing. His hand never falls short. He did the same for me with grace and success wherever I went. Many times I wonder why the Lord provided for me and bestowed upon me all these blessings which I did not deserve as a sinner saved by His grace.

As a newly graduated doctor in Egypt, I started with a modest practice in Alexandria with less than fifty pounds which I had borrowed. I ended up with two practices in Alexandria and two others in Abu Al Matamir and Botouros. I realized that there must be a strong hand behind me that supported me and directed me to every place by a merciful plan right after my graduation.

I am average in intelligence, but I love the Lord and