Just In Time!

“Father sat down on the edge of the narrow bed. “Corrie,” he began gently, “when you and I go to Amsterdam-when do I give you your ticket?”
I sniffed a few times, considering this.
“Why, just before we get on the train.”
“Exactly, and our wise Father in heaven knows when we’re going to need things, too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need-just in time.” ( Corrie ten Boom–The Hiding Place.)

Cornelia Arnolda Johanna ten Boom’s life would require that she find this God-given strength in her heart. Along with her father and siblings, she would be arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp for harboring hundreds of Jewish people during the Holocaust. The ten Boom Family is credited with helping to save over 800 Jewish people during these horrific years.

But God was faithful to “Corrie” in many ways. She was blessed with a father who knew his God and served Him courageously, teaching his four children to do the same. Casper ten Boom was taught these Christian values that he passed on by his own father, who in 1844 began a tradition of praying for the Jewish people and the peace of Jerusalem. This prayer tradition would last 100 years, ending when Casper was arrested in February, 1944. He lived only a few days in the concentration camp after his arrest. But Corrie would go on to have a world-wide ministry for many years, and author the book “The Hiding Place.”

Most of us can only imagine needing to have this type of faith and strength, but we all face challenges and heartaches in our lives. God sees and cares about all that concerns each of us, and His strength and grace are unlimited. But we must learn to trust Him and believe that He will be with us in all the “what ifs” of life. This is what Corrie ten Boom’s father taught her through his words of comfort when she feared he would die.

Often, we want to jump ahead and try to figure out what we will do if something we fear happens. This is where anxiety lives, and we are instructed by God to trust Him with these fears:“If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in His good time He will lift you up. Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 (Living Bible)

Life will have challenges and even heartache for all of us. They come in different forms, but they come to all of us. If we are wise, we will not search beyond our means for the “ticket” out of these possibilities that live in the unknown. Instead, we will put our trust in our God Who thinks about each of us, and watches everything that touches our lives. And He will give us the strength we need– just in time!

For more on the ten Boom Family: http://tenboom.org/aboutthetenboomsc48.php