The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
    he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.

• Psalm 23:1-3

“I understood what she meant. She lived in a narrow alley and had a rather rough husband and many children. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘it is such a joy that the nurses look after me in every way. I like being ill!’
“‘I understand, but tell me, are you in pain?’
“’Yes,’ she said, ‘I still have pain, but I must tell you more about why I am so happy. The woman next to me told me about Jesus and gave me a small Bible. My daughter, who is in your club, has also told me about Him, but here I really had time to think. I have been reading the Bible and feel so happy! I’ve learned from Psalm 23 that the Lord is my Shepherd. Isn’t that wonderful? There is only one almost insurmountable obstacle, and that is that next week, I must go home. I’m happy but also rather weak. I don’t feel strong enough to go back and start everyday life again.’
“I said, ‘Now you know that the Lord is your Shepherd, and He takes care of His sheep. Psalm 23 also teaches us that He wants to renew our strength and lead us beside peaceful streams. When you are at home, the same God, who now gives you peace in your heart, will be your Friend and your Helper. He will help you with all the work you have to do at home. He helped you here, and it isn’t in His nature to stop. At home, you will find that He is your teammate.’”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place

“Jesus enjoys being near me.  He paid a great price so that nothing could separate me from His love.”

• 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

Before the quote, she prefaced this story by saying that in her club, one of the ladies’ mother was sick and in the hospital.  The woman had always been remote and sad in the past.  Then Tante Corrie is greeted with “I enjoy being sick.”

I doubt if she would enjoy it these days.  The hospitals are overcrowded and the patient to nurse ratio is horribly too high.  But add to that, some of these nurses do not want to be bothered when the nurse call button goes off.  They probably only need to go to the bathroom.

Odd, I was required to spend the night in the hospital because there was no one at home to take care of me for 24 hours after I came out of anesthesia.  But they put me in a hospital room where I am ignored all night long.  Okay, in three trips of this nature.  Once I had someone waking me up to see if I was sleeping.  Then the next time, they checked on me and then left the door open so that I could not get any sleep.  Okay, about thirty minutes of sleep.  And the third time, I got no sleep at all because they strapped me down so that I could not move and then never checked on me nor did they answer the call button – because the care nurse was not even in the area, chit-chatting with friends down the hall in another department – I caught him there after being discharged.

But, this new change in the world is one that needs to go back to the old days.

But in this case, this woman meets Jesus in the process of needing others to care for her.

God uses whatever means that it takes.  For those who He elects, He gets our attention.

But what led this woman to Christ is that she needed a helper.  Tante Corrie went on in this devotional to say that Jesus is not just our Savior, but He is our Helper, Strengthener, Deliverer, and Friend.

It is what was missing when I was growing up.  We need a relationship with Jesus.  That is what accepting Him as our Savior is all about.  He wants to be that friend.  And he wants to be that good friend.  He wants to be that friend that always knows just what we need, and He knocks on the door with a sack full of that need.

That is the kind of friend Jesus is.  If you do not feel that way, examine yourself.  He is like He was with the disciples by the Sea of Galilee after He rose from the dead.  He sits there cooking fish on a fire, waiting for us to come to shore. If you do not feel that friendship with Jesus, you may need to get closer to His fire and feel the warmth of His Love.

Closing Prayer

“Father, I’m so grateful that You care enough about me to be my Helper. As I commit my ways to You, surround me with Your constant love and faithful provision. Be my all in all. In Your kindness, rescue me when I am overwhelmed with burdens and duties that weigh me down. Keep me from stumbling when I have too much on my plate. Strengthen me and refresh me, as I remain close to You.”

• Corrie ten Boom, God is my Hiding Place (prayer for Day 22, God is with You in Your Everyday Tasks)

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.