September 29, 2026 – Daily Devotional
This past Sunday, Rev. Wendy Lambert concluded our sermon series, Three Simple Rules. The final rule, originally expressed by John Wesley, is “Stay in love with God.” We have been given practices to help us stay connected to God’s love and grace. When we worship, pray, and study, we keep the love of God in front of us. As Rev. Lambert talked about our need to stay in love with God, she shared about Corrie Ten Boom.
Corrie Ten Boom is a wonderful example of a person of faith who stayed in love with God, in the face of some of the most terrible circumstances imaginable. Corrie Ten Boom wrote several books, including The Hiding Place and Tramp For The Lord. These novels contain the story of her life under Nazi occupation. Corrie and her family did all in their power to resist the Nazi occupation by hiding and smuggling Jewish citizens to freedom.
In the winter of 1944, a local informant betrayed Corrie Ten Boom and her family. They were arrested, separated, and sent to various prisons and camps. Corrie and her sister Betsie eventually were sent to Ravensbrück, a women’s concentration camp in Germany. Corrie and her sister endured the harshest of conditions. Betsie would lose her life in that terrible place.
While imprisoned at Ravensbrück, Corrie was able to smuggle a small Bible into the camp. She and her sister found great comfort in reading the stories of hope each night. They shared it with the women crammed into the barracks alongside them. Each time they prayed and read Scripture, they found peace and comfort amid darkness and pain.
On their first day at Ravensbrück, they read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” This scripture was fresh in their minds when they entered their barracks for the first time and realized they would be sleeping in a room infested with fleas. Corrie told her sister that she was grateful for many things, even in Ravensbrück, but she would not be thankful for fleas.
Soon after their imprisonment at Ravensbrück, Corrie and Betsie realized why they could be thankful for the fleas. They realized the guards knew the fleas were there, and they stayed far away from the barracks. This freed the women to pray and read scripture each and every night.
I cannot begin to imagine the difficulties that Corrie and Betsie had to endure. However, I am thankful for the testimony that came from her life of faith. Learning about Corrie Ten Boom’s life and faith offers us great encouragement. It reminds me that God is at work even in the midst of the dark, flea-infested places of the world. There is no place where God’s love is not found. As we pray, worship, and study, we too will find God’s comforting love in our lives.
–Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
