The Hiding Place

​​"The experiences of our lives, when we let God use them, become the mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will give us to do.” These insightful words were spoken by Corrie Ten Boom in her book, The Hiding Place, a biographical account of her imprisonment in a concentration camp during World War II.

I read this book back in high school and have lost count of how many other I times I’ve gone back to reread it. Each time, it affects me differently, depending on what’s going on in my life.
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This time, I was impressed anew at how God works in the lives of His children and the many ways He protects us. Nothing is impossible with our God! When she arrived at the camp, Corrie smuggled in a Bible by hiding it in a pouch around her neck. Even when she was strip-searched in the showers, God blinded the guards’ eyes so they didn’t see it.

God blessed the two sisters by allowing them to stay together. When one sister became discouraged as they suffered through hunger, nakedness, mistreatment, and fear of death, the other would find something to be thankful for. Betsie told Corrie, “Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings, Corrie. It’s something we make inside ourselves.”

Who would believe God could be found, or even work, in such a place of overwhelming misery, pointless suffering, and needless death? Corrie related experience after experience where God let them know He was right there with them; He hadn’t forgotten or forsaken them. In the midst of struggling with feelings of hatred, anger, and pain, she came to realize, “The real sin lay in thinking that any power to help and transform came from me. Of course, it was not my wholeness, but Christ’s that made the difference.”

One of the most compelling accounts of God at work—and showed God has a sense of humor--is when Corrie complained to Betsie about swarms of fleas in the straw that covered the platforms they used as beds. It was just one more indignity to deal with, and she felt there was no way God could make her grateful for a flea. Betsie reminded her the Bible says (in 1 Thessalonians 5:18) to “give thanks in all circumstances…It doesn’t say ‘in pleasant circumstances.’” What seemed like a nuisance became a blessing! The guards wouldn’t come into their barracks for fear of catching the fleas, so it kept the women from being abused and harassed, and allowed them to have Bible studies, letting the other inmates hear the comforting and life-giving Word of God to meet their deepest needs.
 
In this life, no one escapes difficult circumstances—unemployment, death of a loved one, financial struggles, relationship issues, troubled children, chronic illness—the list goes on. God reassures us in Isaiah 43:1b – 3a: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”
 
Corrie rested in God’s sovereignty, knowing “His timing is perfect. His will is our hiding place.” While it’s not easy, we can do the same. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 tells us: “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.” May you be encouraged and strengthened!

Blessings to you!
Lori  

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