Life lessons from Corrie ten Boom - part 1Sample

The Hiding Place 

Psalm 91:1  (NIV)

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

It is the 28th of February 1944. Corrie is the ringleader of the resistance group BéJé (Barteljorisstraat). It is a group of eighty young men and women with whom she had already worked in youth work before the war. There have been warnings that people might betray them. That day there is a raid in the afternoon by the Gestapo. Corrie lies sick in her bed with high fever. There is a hiding place in her sleeping room, a double wall. Six people hide behind that wall in a narrow space. After forty-eight anxious hours they are released and they are not arrested by the Gestapo. But that day the family Ten Boom and around thirty other people, who just visited the family for various reasons, are arrested and they are brought to the police station in Haarlem. That first evening Father Ten Boom, 84 years old, asks his grandson Peter to read Psalm 91. Within 14 days Father dies. But Corrie and her sister Betsie carry these words from Psalm 91 in their hearts during the long dreadful months in imprisonment. To dwell in the shelter of the Most High means that in the midst of fear and danger and threat, you may know and believe that God through His Spirit lives in you and that you can dwell in Him. There, in the midst of the peaceful shadow of His comfort and grace, it is possible to endure the most terrible suffering.

To reflect upon

The Lord Jesus says: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). You can be absolutely sure that He is in you and that you are in Him as you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Take the time to come and be at rest with Him. Talk with Him as you would talk with a good friend, sitting by the fire place. The storm outside, but we rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Prayer

Thank You Lord that we can know that You are my Hiding Place and 

           “ When peace like a river attendeth my way

            When sorrows like sea billows roll;

            Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

            It is well, it is well with my soul.”  

            (Written by Horatio Spafford)