Even the Fleas - Kaitlyn Tells a Story of Corrie and Betsy Ten Boom

Most of us learned that we should be thankful when we were just kids. We were often reminded to 'say thank-you' and 'be grateful' and for many of us, thankfulness became just another of the many manners that we were expected to use. But the command to be thankful doesn't just come from our parents or a social standard - it comes from God. And thankfulness doesn't just benefit the one who we thank - God made it to benefit us, as the ones who are doing the thanking as well.  In 1 Thessalonians v. 16 - 18 we find that it is actually part of God's will for our lives that we be thankful. The verse reads, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

 Paul writes that God's very will for our lives can be summarised in these three commands. So shouldn't we be actively practising them? Are we praying, rejoicing, and giving thanks with as much, and more, diligence as we invest into our jobs, relationships, or schooling? We pour our self into these responsibilities when they are only our will for our lives, but prayer, rejoicing, and thanksgiving is the will of God Himself for us.

 In August 20th's post, Did God Really Say?, we looked at what it means to pray without ceasing and in August 28th's post, Choosing Joy, we learned how Richard Wurmbrand applied the principle of rejoicing always. But what about thanksgiving? How can we give thanks in all circumstances? Why should we give thanks in all circumstances? I have the privilege today of sharing with you an article that was written by a friend of mine and a fellow blogger, Kaitlyn Donihue. Kaitlyn originally wrote this article for her blog, Simply Devoted, I was very encouraged by her thoughts on thanksgiving and asked if she would allow me to share this article with you. I sincerely hope it blesses you as it blessed me!

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When we hear the word thanksgiving, many of us tend to think of a holiday rather than of an activity that we should be continually doing. Throughout Scripture, we are repeatedly commanded to give thanks.

Ephesians 5:18-21 says, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.”

In this passage, we are told not to be drunk with wine but instead to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The passage then goes on to describe what being filled with the Holy Spirit will look like in the life of a believer. Giving thanks for everything is on that list.

If we are truly living a Spirit-filled life we will give thanks for everything.This is hard to comprehend and even harder to live out. There are so many circumstances in daily life that are difficult to thank God for. Thanking God in every circumstance seems plausible but are we really to thank God for every circumstance?

Corrie Ten Boom lived in Holland during world war two. She and her sister Betsy were arrested and put into a concentration camp because they had hidden Jews in their home and aided them in fleeing the Nazis.

Concentration Camps were horrific places. It is hard to imagine thanking God for anything to do with them.

However, Corrie and Betsy Ten Boom were surrendered to their precious Lord Jesus. Therefore when they arrived at the concentration camp the first thing they did was to begin thanking God.

They thanked God that they had been put in prison together. They thanked God for the cramped conditions because they would be able to share the gospel with more people. Then Betsy began to thank God for the fleas. Corrie was incredulous.

“Why on earth would you thank God for fleas?” She asked Betsy.

“Because” Betsy replied “the bible says to thank God in all circumstances, not just pleasant circumstances.”

Corrie was troubled. As hard as she tried she could not bring herself to thank God for something as disgusting as fleas.

As the weeks went by the sisters were surprised by the lack of supervision. The guards never came into the barracks, which allowed them to hold Bible studies and talk openly about Christ. One day they mentioned their surprise to a fellow prisoner.

Chuckling she said, “it’s because of the fleas. The guards won’t come into the barracks because they don’t want to be covered in fleas.”

Romans 8:28, a passage with which many of us are very familiar says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

This is why we as Christians can thank God for every circumstance. God is so big, so mighty, so powerful that no matter how horrible any given circumstance is He can turn it for the good of His church. We can thank God for every circumstance, because we can trust Him.

In Christ

kaitlyn