God Is Preparing for the Distant Future

'You, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time' (1 Peter 1:1-5)

Corrie ten Boom’s great grandfather, Gerrit ten Boom worked as a gardener at a large estate 6 kilometres from Haarlem. His boss had a daughter who enjoyed destroying the work of the gardener. Every time he had planted the tulip bulbs, she would kick them out of the ground. Eventually, Gerrit got so fed up with her naughty behaviour, that he went to his boss and told him: ’Your daughter is always, intentionally destroying my work’. His boss replied: ‘The next time she does this, you can spank her.’ (We’re talking about 200 years ago, when spanking was not against the law). And so it happened. The daughter never forgot and never forgave what the gardener had done. As soon as she inherited the estate, she called her gardener to see him and he was fired on the spot.

That was the reason the family Ten Boom had to move to Haarlem, where Gerrit started a carriage business. Gerrit was a Christian and had great faith in God, so he continued to serve Him, even after being fired from his job. He knew that his life was hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). This gave him the courage to continue to trust, even though he didn’t know what the future would hold. It gave his son William the possibility to become a watchmaker. Never could Gerrit have known that more than 100 years later, these difficult circumstances would result in his descendants helping and rescuing many Jewish people in Haarlem where the family Ten Boom then lived.

Questions:

• Were there circumstances in the lives of your parents or (great) grandparents that still influence your life?
• How did God protect and provide in it so that it eventually worked together for good?

Prayer:
Thank You, Lord, that the circumstances of my life do not determine my future. But it is You and You can work all things together for good! Amen.