Tuesday, March 22, 2011

His Perfect Plan!

Corrie ten Boom intrigues me. I am drawn to individuals who have faced enormous difficulties in life, yet come out of these experiences with an inspiring testimony.

She reminds me of the verse in James 1:12: “Blessed is a man [or woman] who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”


Much like the Apostle Paul who possessed a mysterious disposition in the midst of his circumstances, Corrie Ten Boom rose from the ashes of the holocaust with a quiet and godly demeanor. How did she maintain a clear perspective of God in the midst of such hatred and cruelty? It is truly unexplainable unless you know something or should I say Someone that most people do not.

Corrie was a holocaust survivor during World War Two. Her first 50 years was spent with her family in Holland until the Nazis invaded the European continent with their strategy to rid the world of all Jews. In the midst of Hitler’s anti-Semitic plan, the ten Boom family provided “hiding places” for persecuted Jews. Because of their underground activities, Corrie spent many months in a concentration camp.

In Corrie ten Boom's book In My Father’s House, Carole Carlson writes the following in the foreword (which originally was written in Corrie ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place):


Today I know that memories are the key not the past, but to the future. I know that 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.

Corrie’s comments provide an apt introduction to our passage in Ecclesiastes. Solomon has been on a journey to find meaning in life. He has tried it all only to come full circle and realize that all is still vanity. The name God is mentioned only once from Ecclesiastes 1:1—2:23. Why? Solomon has been living life under the sun. God has not been a part of Solomon’s equation, that is until Ecclesiastes 2:24.

Solomon will soon discover that God uses every event that occurs under the sun for the purpose of bringing about the “mysterious and perfect preparation for the work He will have us to do.” We would do well to listen to Solomon as he teaches about our God.

No comments: