Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom

Corrie Ten Boom lived in Holland during World War II and was instrumental in helping approximately 800 Jews escape from the Nazi Holocaust and certain death. She was a strong Christian who practiced her faith in Jesus Christ on a daily basis and lived her life for the Lord. She grew up in a strong Christian home and never married. She and her family found themselves in the center of the Dutch resistance in Holland. They harbored hundreds of Jews in their home until they could safely get them out of their city Haarlem, Holland and on to safer ground. The Ten Booms, including Corrie’s father, sister Bêtsie and herself were eventually captured for working against the German occupation in Holland and were sent to a concentration camp where Corrie’s sister, Betsie eventually died.

Corrie and Betsie preached the gospel to many Jews in the concentration camps and brought many to Christ. Before passing away, Betsie had a vision of a beautiful home that she and Corrie would run, that would help people get over their deep hurt and hatred they developed as a result of the German abuse they had endured. She also dreamed they would have their own concentration camp that they would run for the same purpose. Eventually, Corrie did in fact, open both of these centers for abused people dealing with deep pain and sorrow. She also traveled all over the world and wrote several books proclaiming the Lord’s message that His love can heal and restore.

The book, A Hiding Place, authored by Corrie Ten Boom taught me:

1.) God provides us with the ability to forgive. We can’t do it by ourselves. After the war Corrie traveled all over the war teaching people that there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still. After one particular church meeting Corrie ran into one of the crueler prison guards from the concentration camp. The prison guard gushed to Corrie about God’s ability to forgive him. Corrie had to pray to the Lord to give her the ability to forgive him. As a result of that prayer, God filled her with a very deep love for the man. In fact, much of Corrie Ten Boom's work centered on the power of forgiveness in our lives.

2) When we are walking in God’s will for our lives he provides everything we need to be successful for that particular task He has called us to do. When Corrie was called to work in the underground God covered her with a very special grace and protection to accomplish His will. When she was released from prison and returned home she attempted to go back to work for the underground and almost revealed a friend she had at the police department. She realized then that God’s covering was gone and therefore she had other work to do. She then remembered the vision her sister had and continued on with the new work God had laid out.

3) God provides us with dreams and visions so we understand his plans for us. Betsie, Corrie’s sister, was able to describe the house in Holland that would be used for their first healing center. After one of Corrie’s first speaking engagements, a lady who had met her family many years before offered her home to Corrie for the center. When Corrie visited the home it looked exactly the way her sister had described it from a vision the Lord had given her. Betsie also told Corrie as she was dying that one day they would have a concentration camp that would help people heal. Eventually that is exactly what happened.

A few paragraphs cannot begin to give Corrie Ten Boom and her family justice when describing their love for Jesus Christ and their fellow man. Please read "The Hiding Place" for further detail.