The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
    and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
    instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
    instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
    a planting of the Lord
    for the display of his splendor.

• Isaiah 61:1-3

“Three times in my life, locks closed behind me and, after a time of imprisonment, opened again. I learned how it feels to be behind a door that can be opened only from the outside. Those were difficult classes in life’s school, but in a difficult class, one learns much, especially when there is a good teacher.
“My Teacher was the Lord. He taught me that, for a child of God, His everlasting arms are at the bottom of our deepest pits. He can be found in the depths of our darkest pain.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“When the worst happens in my life, the best remains and the very best is yet to be.  Jesus holds the key to unlock my soul and set me free.”

• Corrie ten Boom, Highlighted Quote

Boilerplate

In this new mini-series, I will be looking at a devotion that is said to be written by Corrie ten Boom.  Really, this devotion is like several that I had read.  They come from the writings of that person.  Thus, the prayers at the end may be the editor’s addition to what Corrie ten Boom actually wrote.

Each of these posts will include the suggested verses to read, a quote from the writing that came from a Corrie ten Boom book (five in all according to the copyright page, but no chapter in the book is given the specific book of origin).  I will also include the highlighted quote, similar to an internet quotation, and I will end with the quoted prayer for that devotion.

Discussion

I have not been imprisoned as had Corrie ten Boom, but when I visited the city jail to inquire about a prison ministry there was something about that clank behind me.  You went through the first door.  When that door was locked behind you, then they would open the inner door.  When that door clanked with a resounding sound, I knew that I could not leave until the guards allowed me to leave.  Was I scared or was it something less – the heebie-jeebies maybe?

And once when a woman ran through a four-way stop and hit my vehicle, the policeman put her in the front seat and made me sit in the back of the patrol car where they keep prisoners.  There are no door handles in the backseat of a patrol car for obvious reasons.  I was irritated beyond measure.  Since the woman who hit me was a Baptist, I was automatically guilty of getting in her way when she did not stop at the stop sign.  Her insurance paid for my car to be repaired, but she did not get a warning for the traffic violation, and a good traffic cop could determine that she was also speeding based on how far she traveled before she stopped and the level of the damage to my vehicle.

And no, I was bitter at the time, but now I just restate the obvious injustice.  And I relate the story in that I have had multiple times when I was trapped until someone else said I could leave.

Corrie ten Boom’s three imprisonments were in the local prison in Holland.  Then, she was in Vught concentration camp before being sent the Ravensbruck where her sister, Betsie died.

But even if we are not imprisoned, we can be given a diagnosis of a serious disease.  We can be trapped in an abusive relationship.  I felt trapped in my employment.  I barely made ends meet, and sometimes my wife and I had to drastically reduce our expenses, but I could not find other employment opportunities unless I took a drastic pay cut.

There are a lot of ways to be trapped.  But as Tante Corrie said, Jesus is the good teacher.  We are put in those situations at times as a test of faith.  We are put in those situations to mold us into the person that God has a specific job for them to do.  We are put in those situations like Paul was when he had a thorn in the flesh.  His thorn was not lifted from him in order for Paul to know that he needed God every second of every day.  The thorn kept Paul humble. And sometimes, it puts us in a certain neighborhood around a certain group of people with a certain amount of worldly resources.

Of course, it could be everything in the last paragraph.  It all depends on what God is trying to teach us.

But one thing is always the same.  God is there.  He is right there with us.  And Jesus knows what it is like when we are in pain.  He has been there.

And Jesus holds the keys.

Closing Prayer

“Father, at times, I feel as if there is no way to be free from the thoughts that imprison me within myself. I know You love me, but my mind has been overcome. I’ve struggled and complained, which has brought no satisfaction or reward. But now, I surrender. Your truths are the only thing that can set me free. I lay down arguments and invite You to take up residence upon the throne of my heart.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 20, Jesus Holds the Keys)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.