This year, my Facebook group, The Posse, took on a reading challenge. Each month, we have a different challenge to guide our reading. It’s been great push to get me out of my usual routine. This month, we were challenged to read a book published in the year we were born. Being born in 1971, I was worried that I would find nothing that interested me, but after a brief Google search, I discovered this gem: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.
I had heard about this book from sermons and recalled faithful women talking about the impact the book had on them, but until this month, I had never taken the time to read it. What a blessing this book turned out to be!
The Ten Booms were a Dutch family of incredible faith who lived during WWII and hid Jews from the Germans during the occupation. Their dedication to Christ inspired and humbled me. They each had different gifts, but all were used for God’s glory. And when the sisters were transported to the Ravensbruck concentration camp in Germany, their faith changed every life they touched.
God did not spare them the horrors of the concentration camp. They endured torture, isolation, indignity, abuse, malnutrition, and flirted with death every day. Yet God did provide miraculous ways to sustain them. From an eyedropper bottle of vitamin liquid that never ran dry, to a smuggled Bible never discovered by their guards, to visions of future ministries that gave them hope, to counted blessings that made them realize they were not alone. God still saw them, and He still cared. Not all of the Ten Booms survived, but they all made an astounding impact for Christ.
There are two scenes in particular that amaze me with their power. The first is one of the times that the female prisoners were stripped naked by their guards for their physicals. Stripped of all defenses, the humiliation was horrible. Then Corrie was blessed with a realization: They had stripped Jesus, too. Artists might depict the crucifixion scene with a piece of cloth to protect Christ’s modesty, but that was out of reverence, not accuracy. Christ was bared before his tormentors as well. The women of Ravensbruck were not alone in their indignity.
The other scene involved an infestation of fleas. When they first arrived at Ravensbruck, they were thrust into a room built to hold 400 prisoners that now held 1400. Women lay wall-to-wall on wooden pallets of various heights. The conditions were deplorable. Worst of all, every blanket and beam was covered in flesh-biting fleas. Betsie, Corrie’s sister, had the patience of a saint and the faith of child. When they came into their new home, she reminded her sister that they were to give thanks in all circumstances. Even this one.
So they counted their blessings. They had each other. They had their smuggled Bible. They had hundreds of women that they could minister to. And then Betsie gave thanks for the fleas. Corrie struggled to go so far. How could there be anything good about those horrible pests? Yet as time passed and the Ten Boom sisters began conducting worship services in their barracks, they wondered why the guards never came in to stop them. It wasn’t until much later they learned that the guards refused to go in because of the fleas. God had provided, perhaps not in the way the prisoners would have preferred, but he provided nonetheless.
The COVID-19 pandemic is such a small inconvenience compared to the concentration camps of Nazi Germany, but as we navigate these waters of isolation and social distancing, of health worries and event cancellations, I wonder what doors God might be opening for ministry during this time of hardship that would not have been opened otherwise.
How have you seen God at work during this pandemic?
Have you read The Hiding Place?
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I read The Hiding Place in 1973 or 1974 as a fairly new believer and it strengthened my faith like few books have since! When I lost my sister (in a car accident) in 1979, it comforted me to remember that Corrie had lost her sister as well. And like you, I’ve thought of the death camps during this pandemic and been reminded that we’ve been very minorly inconvenienced, compared to all that Corrie and her family went through. Thanks for the reminders of these amazing stories from the book, Karen!
Even before the war started in the book, I fell in love with Corrie and her family and wanted to emulate their faith. And when horror struck and they remained faithful – even more so – what an example to follow!
The Hiding Place sounds great and inspiring. I will definitely check it out and see if they have it in my library.
I have been blessed to have enjoyed the lockdown. (Weird way to put it, right?) But I had the chance to try out many new things, like my sewing machine, for instance, and I re-learnt the piano. I learnt a new Chinese input method, which is not as complicated as Chinese words itself but is still challenging. I have done many other things but I’m not bothering to include everything.
I had always managed to find time for prayers and Bible-reading and have kept this habit in the lockdown. There hasn’t been much difference.
What I have been most thankful of is that I have found time to write. I want my book to be able to strengthen other people’s faith. To me, fiction has been the best genre to touch a person’s heart. In my book, I have been stuck at a place where a man goes to church after 20 years of neglecting it. I was thinking about what would be best to put in the first sermon of 20 years. I asked myself what would touch my heart most if I were that character. I had thought about the Parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Lost Son. But I just felt that wasn’t my heart’s desire. I realised what I really wanted to put in after a church Zoom meeting. I wanted to tell readers that we are put right with God not because of what we have or have not done, but because God is merciful. And that we are put right by faith. And I am trying to remember this each day. I am grateful that God is going to overlook all our sins and gave us faith, that I had the chance to know this and to tell people, and that I have fiction, both to read and to write.
I love that God is speaking to you so clearly during this lockdown time, Anna. And how wonderful to have more time to devote to your writing. There are definite blessings coming from this time of hardship.
Good morning. I wanted to let you know that I so enjoyed your post. We all need a reminder at times, I think, of just how amazing our God is and how much He helps us go through the trying times. The Ten Booms were an amazing family who lived a Godly example. How much more should we be living the example with much less the hardships they endured?! Help us Lord to live and let your light shine no matter the circumstances.
Have a wonderful day in Him!
Amen! They surely challenged me to open my eyes more intentionally to seek ways to help those around me and to radiate faith for God’s glory.
This book changed my life and enlarged my faith. I remember thinking that their life seemed so normal one day, and then it was turned upside down. Yet their faith stayed strong. As a young believer, I knew I didn’t have what they had, but I wanted it.
Aren’t they wonderful examples to emulate? I fall so short. Betsie, especially, is my new hero. Her godly attitude and kindness to others never faltered. How incredibly selfless she was!
Amazing book, amazing story! Thanks for the reminder.
You’re so welcome, Betty. I’m glad I finally took the time to read it for myself. Such a powerful, impactful story.
I re-read this book, along with Karen, for our challenge. (We didn’t know, at the time) The portion of the book that has stayed with me the most, both the first time and now, was her ability to forgive the guard at the end. I don’t think I could have done it. Corrie even prays, “You forgive me through me, because I can’t.” (or something very similar) Her ability to even pray that prayer showed more faith and belief, than I believe I have. I am still praying for that kind of faith.
As the vitamin bottle continued to dole out the necessary drops, I was reminded of the story of Hanukkah, as the drops continued each day.
Wasn’t that an amazing scene, Dora? Every so often God puts us in a place to practice what we preach in ways that exert a personal cost. Corrie lived out her words with God’s help. I pray I can do the same.
When I taught English in a Christian homeschool co-op, we read The Hiding Place as one of our pieces of literature to enjoy and to analyse. It is so rich in Christian faith, Jewish culture, WWII history, and life lessons. When I think of practical applications of the Biblical admonition to “[b]e strong and courageous…”, I think of Corrie and Betsie ten Boom courageously hiding Jews and facing the horrors of their concentration camp. That novel is a classic of Christian literature and has had a powerful influence on me as well!
I couldn’t agree more, Suzanne. I’m so glad that you introduced a new generation to it as well. We need those stories to endure and to shape us so that we look more like Him.
Karen, The Hiding Place played a huge role in my becoming a Christian. It was about four or five months before I accepted Christ when I read the book. At that time, I worked for a boss who was horrid (it was sexual harassment, but it wasn’t called that back then). I remember going to lunch with other gals from the office the day after reading about the fleas, and I said to one of them, “Maybe I should thank God for the fleas in my life.” (The “fleas” being my boss.) I’ve read The Hiding Place at least four more times over the years. She was still alive back when I read the book, still traveling and speaking, and her stories touched my life in many ways.
I love how you prayed for the “fleas” in your life, Robin! What a perfect application. And how thankful I am that you started that Christian journey and have blessed thousands of your own readers in return. Corrie would smile. 🙂
Here’s to those of us born in 1971! [virtual fist bump]
Woot! 🙂 We’re going to have to do something to celebrate our milestone next year, Becky.
I read the Hiding Place when I was in high school. It had a huge impact on me. So many years later, I still remember the scene you mentioned about the fleas. It has passed through my thoughts many times over the years. Thanks for reminding me again.
Someone earlier mentioned they’ve “enjoyed” staying home during this quarantine. I too have enjoyed my less busy season. It has blessed me by giving me time to focus on my goals and spend more time with devotions and Bible study. My writing has been blessed by it.
It was me who said I ‘enjoyed’ staying at home. I really got the chance to do many other things I haven’t been able to do because of my busy schedule. By the way, I just found out that there was one single copy of The Hiding Place in my library from the online catalog. And I have booked the book right away (even though the library is not re-opened, I will have to wait until then to get the book).
Oh, yes! I read The Hiding Place years ago, probably in the 70s. Such an impact. Such power and love, forgiving love. There’s a movie, too. I’m a missionary kid and Corrie talked for our mission group one summer at Montreat, NC; I wasn’t there, just heard about it. Before she spoke and after her introduction, 10 loud booms welcomed her to the platform.
I wanted the true, open, active, and close relationship to God that she had. She definitely was part of the growth of my individual faith, as opposed to second-hand faith through “osmosis”, through my parents (which, of course, is so common. People may say, ” I was raised a Christian, so I am a Christian.” That is incorrect.)
I’ve read The Hiding Place and also seen the movie. Such a wonderful woman to admire.