Part one in a series of advice Casper ten Boom gave his
little girl.
Corrie pulled the covers right up to her chin. She tossed and turned
trying to get comfortable. Beside her, Nollie lay quietly.
With a tired sigh, she shut her eyes. She could see the Hoog’s baby as
clearly as if she were looking into its cradle again. It was so still – as if
it were sleeping, but it wasn’t sleeping. She remembered how cold the little
fingers had felt and…
She screamed.
In a moment, the door of the little room swung open. “Corrie?”
Casper ten Boom had been making his way up the stairs to tuck his
daughters in, as he did every night.
Usually, Corrie lay still waiting for him to fix her covers, put his
hand on her head, and pray over her. Tonight, she jumped up and flung her arms
around his neck as soon as he sat down on the bed. Tears were streaming down
her face. “I need you!” She cried. “You can’t die! You can’t!”
Nollie rubbed her eyes as she sat up, “Mama took us to see Mrs.
Hoog today.” She explained. “The baby was still in its cradle. The baby who
died.”
Casper lifted his youngest daughter’s chin. “Tell me, Corrie,” he
whispered, “when we take the train to Amsterdam, when do I give you your
ticket?”
The answer came through stifled sobs, “Just before we get on.”
He nodded. “Exactly, and our wise Father in heaven knows when we are
going to need things too. Don’t run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time
comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find
the strength you need just in time.”
To Everything There Is A Season
“…A time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time
to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; a time to kill,
and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to
weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast
away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to
refrain from embracing; a time to gain, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and
a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep
silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of
war, and a time of peace.” (Ecclesiastes iii.1-8)
As Casper ten Boom reminded his little girl of this truth, he added a
comforting reminder. As you walk through each season God will give you what you
need to face it.
Like Corrie, we often feel afraid. We feel weak and unequipped. But we
shouldn’t.
In Matthew vi.8, Jesus said “your Father knows what you need before you
ask him.” If we were left on our own to face these things — life, death,
planting, harvest, killing, healing etc. — we would be right to be
afraid.
We are weak. We are unequipped. But we are not
alone and that changes everything!
Today’s Load
In Matthew vi.34 Jesus said, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble.”
We are told to take each day at a time and take thought only for that
day. Do you do that? Do you live in the present season? In today?
If you’re like me, you probably add tomorrow’s worry on as well. Not
only tomorrow’s but also worry for the day after and the one after that. We
think, plan, and worry weeks, months, and even years ahead.
In Casper ten Boom’s words, we’ve run out ahead of God. Is it any wonder
that the load feels too heavy for us?
“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength —
carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying
doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” –
Corrie ten Boom
Today’s Provision
“When the time comes,” Casper said to Corrie, “you will look
into your heart and find the strength you need just in time.”
Is that true? Will God meet our needs? Will He provide?
In Genesis xxii, God asked Abraham to take his son, Isaac up to Mount
Moriah and offer him up as a sacrifice. As they were walking up the mountain,
wood and fire in hand, Isaac asked his father a question. He said, “Look, the
fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a
burnt offering.”
Abraham was confident God had what was needed. Confident God would
provide. However, they reached the summit without seeing that provision. They
built the altar, arranged the wood, and bound Isaac – still no provision. It
wasn’t until Abraham raised the knife to kill his son — the son on whom all
God’s promises rested — that the Angel of the Lord called out to stop
him.
Only in the moment provision was needed was provision supplied. Then,
just as Abraham said, God provided the lamb for the burnt offering – the ram
caught in the thicket.
God’s provision for Abraham came just in time – it wasn’t early and it
wasn’t late.
Let’s follow Abraham’s example and trust God will provide. Let’s take
Casper ten Boom’s advice and not run ahead of God. Let’s live in today,
carrying today’s load with today’s provision.
In Christ
Quiana
*Scripture references in NKJV unless otherwise noted.
*The story above is written in a historical fiction format but is
entirely based off of Corrie ten Boom’s own account as she recorded in her
book, The Hiding Place.
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