Corrie ten Boon spent a year in a concentration camp for being a part of a family who hid Jews from the Nazis during World War II.
Her story is told in the book The Hiding Place, which also was made into a movie. She suffered through horrible treatment from the guards, and her sister, Betsie died under unbelievably harsh conditions.
After her release through a clerical error, she was determined to let the world know how God had strengthened her through those painful months. One of her classic quotes from that period is “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”
With no resources other than her faith in the greatness of God, she traveled the world speaking to hundreds of thousands on almost every continent. Her travels are cataloged in her book, A Tramp for the Lord.
One of the stories from the book describes her visit to an old couple in a communist controlled country. They were so elderly and incapacitated the authorities left them alone. But the old lady was performing a service to the Kingdom of God only she could have done. Propped up by pillows on a small sofa, her body twisted by muscular sclerosis, she used one finger, typing on an old typewriter.
Far into the night she would translate Christian books into Russian, Latvian and the language of her people. Always using just one finger — peck, peck, she typed out portions of the Bible, the books of Billy Graham, Watchman Nee and Corrie ten Boon.
Her husband said, “Not only does she translate their books, but she prays for these men every day while she types. Sometimes it takes a long time for her finger to hit the key or for her to get the paper in the machine, but all the time she is praying for those whose books she is working on.”
He continued, “God has a purpose for her sickness. Every other Christian in the city is watched by the secret police. But because she has been sick so long, no one looks in on her. They leave us alone and she is the only person in the entire city who can type quietly, undetected by the police.”
When Corrie and her aide returned home, they managed to have a new typewriter sent to her. Later they received a letter from her husband saying — in the early morning hours she had left to be with the Lord.
But, he said, “She had worked up until midnight that same night, typing with that one finger to the glory of God.” Corrie thought of Jesus blessing the woman who had given all she had to the temple treasury and imagined the blessings awaiting that old, crippled woman who likewise gave all she had.
With all the freedoms we have and the resources so readily available, God waits to bless us and others through us if only we would capture the message of following and loving Jesus with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.
“Lord, forgive us for the ease and comfort that we desire when we are called to suffer with Jesus to make his name and renown known in every home in our city and to every corner of the world. Amen.”
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