Power Points: God at Work through Women Leaders Yesterday and Today

Corrie Ten Boom

BY LEECY BARNETT

“Corrie,” [her father] began gently, “when you and I go to Amsterdam... when do I give you your ticket?”

“Why just before we get on the train.”

“Exactly. And our wise Father in heaven knows when we are going to need things, too... 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.” 1

If you met Corrie Ten Boom in 1939, chances are you would not have been particularly impressed by her. She was a 47-year-old unmarried woman living in her family home in the ancient Dutch town of Haarlem with her widowed father and older, also unmarried, sister, Betsie. Her only remarkable achievement was becoming “the first woman to be licensed as a watchmaker in the Netherlands.” Yet a year later, Corrie would need to call on her heavenly Father for strength to face circumstances she could never have imagined.

Give thanks in all circumstances.

On May 14, 1940, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands. It took only three days to totally conquer the nation whose neutrality had been disregarded. Ever since the Dutch Republic had broken away from Spain hundreds of years before, their official policy had been one of religious toleration. Therefore, many Jews had settled in that nation, which allowed them to practice their faith freely. The Ten Boom fam- ily were committed members of the Dutch Reformed Church and had a special love for the Jewish people. A century before this invasion, Corrie’s grandfather had started a “prayer meeting for Israel.” Now, their German overlords were imposing the Nuremberg Race Laws on Dutch Jews and soon would be sending them to their deaths. The Ten Booms knew they had to do something to help the people whom God considered the apple of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:10 NASB). So, they built a secret room in their home and, working with the Dutch underground, they were able to help an estimated 800 Jews escape before the family was betrayed to the Nazis, their home was raided, and Corrie, Betsie, and their father were hauled off to prison.

Corrie’s father, Casper Ten Boom, became sick and died shortly after he was imprisoned. Corrie and Betsie were transferred from prison to prison and finally ended up in Ravensbrück concentration camp, a women’s labor camp in Germany. God had miraculously allowed the sisters to keep a small Bible with them. When they arrived at Ravensbrück, they were appalled at the living conditions; their barracks were infested with fleas! Corrie and Betsie took out their Bible and read the encouragement to give thanks in all circumstances. After thanking God that they were together and that He had allowed them to keep their Bible:

“Thank you” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for...

... [Corrie said], “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”

“Give thanks in all circumstances,” she quoted. “It doesn’t say ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are a part of this place where God has put us.”

...But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.

At Ravensbrück, they had unusual freedom to lead Bible studies and prayer meetings in the barracks. Later, they found out why: The guards refused to enter their dormitory because of the fleas!

Ravensbrück was a cruel place that engendered cruelty in the guards. Because of the harsh treatment she received, Betsie died there. Corrie was released on Christmas Day, 1944, due to a “clerical error.”

We, like Corrie, are to trust God will give us the strength we need when we need it.

After the war, Corrie began speaking of God’s love and forgiveness to people all over Europe.

When speaking in Germany, one of the elite SS troopers who had been a guard at Ravensbrück came up to thank her for her message that Jesus had washed away his sins. Seeing this man brought back all the trauma, hurt, and loss she had experienced in the concentration camp. Corrie prayed: “Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.” As she reached out to take the guard’s hand she was overcome by God’s love for her former captor. She “discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges but on His.”

You may be living an ordinary life as Corrie was and wonder if you can live up to the challenges that may come your way in these uncertain times. But we, like Corrie, are to trust God will give us the strength we need when we need it: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most (Hebrews 4:16 NLT).

1Ten Boom, C., Sherrill, J. & Sherrill, E. (1971). The Hiding Place. Chosen Books, p. 33.

2 Corrie Ten Boom. (2023, December 7). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom

3 Ten Boom, Corrie. (1978). Father Ten Boom: God’s Man. Fleming H. Revell Co., p. 28.

4 Corrie Ten Boom. (2023, December 7). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom

5 Ten Boom, C., Sherrill, J. & Sherrill, E. (1971). The Hiding Place. Chosen Books, p. 181.

6 Ibid, p. 215.