Corrie ten Boom was a Christian Dutch woman who, along with her family, hid many Jews from the Nazis during World War II. They believed what they read in the Bible that the Jews were God’s chosen people. They sought to honor them as such by providing for them a safe place as best they could in the Dutch Underground.
Corrie and her family were arrested, however, in 1944 and taken to prison where her father died shortly after. Some of her family members were released, but Corrie and her sister, Betsy, were sent off to a concentration camp where Betsy lost her life. A few weeks after, Corrie was released on what was found out later to be a clerical error. This error ended up being what saved her life, as all the women prisoners her age were killed just a few days later.
Her story is documented in her autobiography, “The Hiding Place” (Guideposts Associates, 1971). She has written several other books as well.
When reading her writings, there is no doubt of her incredibly deep faith, her love for Jesus and her passion for the deeper things of God. This woman experienced incredible difficulty in her life. She suffered monumental losses and lived knowing that every day was a gift. She also knew that at any time her life could be taken from her.
She did not let her circumstances dictate her attitude, however. Rather, she chose to dig down deeply into her faith in the God she took the time to know, and therefore knew to trust.
“The tree on the mountain takes whatever the weather brings. If it has any choice at all, it is in putting down roots as deeply as possible.” (Each New Day, 1977)
There is such profound truth in this statement. Throughout our lives, we will experience the blazing hot sun, the frigid cold, the buffeting of the wind and the suffocation of heavy rain. We will be weathered by the stuff of life. If we have any choice at all, it is to put our roots down deeply, like the tree on the mountain. There is no room for empty religious rituals that make us feel good about being “spiritual.” There is no room for going through the motions.
There is no room for the shallow and superficial. There is no room for looking good on the outside when the inside is a white washed tomb. (Matthew 23:27)
If we have any choice at all, if we have any chance at all, we must press into the deeper places with God. We must spend time with Him. We must come to know Him and know His heart. Only then will we come to trust Him that no matter the weather, we will not be moved. We will not be destroyed. We will not be forgotten.
We will, however, stand stronger because of it.
James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Cathy Little has been involved in leading worship for over two decades. She is the founder and director of www.Simply-Worship.org, a ministry dedicated to developing a culture of worship that reaches beyond performance, skill, sound and hype into the deeper places of authenticity, humility, integrity and personal intimacy with Father God. Cathy also oversees and trains worship leaders in her home church, RiverStone, in Kennesaw, GA.