“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
Philippians 4:11
During a recent physical therapy appointment, I had what felt like a setback. It led me to feel discontent for the rest of the day, a downward spiral that is not easy to get out of.
Like Paul when he wrote to the Philippians, Betsie ten Boom was a prisoner. She, her sister Corrie, and their father were arrested by the Nazis for hiding and protecting Jews in their home during World War II. Betsie and Corrie were imprisoned in Ravensbrück, a notorious German concentration camp, where Betsie would eventually die. While there, she told Corrie to thank God for everything, even the fleas swarming in their barracks! How can anyone find contentment in that? In The Hiding Place, Corrie quotes Betsie’s answer: “If God has shown us bad times ahead, it’s enough for me that He knows about them. That’s why He sometimes shows us things, you know—to tell us that this too is in His hands” (1971).
Her firmly anchored trust in God brought contentment in circumstances we cannot even imagine. We can, however, trust in the same God!
Like Paul when he wrote to the Philippians, Betsie ten Boom was a prisoner. She, her sister Corrie, and their father were arrested by the Nazis for hiding and protecting Jews in their home during World War II. Betsie and Corrie were imprisoned in Ravensbrück, a notorious German concentration camp, where Betsie would eventually die. While there, she told Corrie to thank God for everything, even the fleas swarming in their barracks! How can anyone find contentment in that? In The Hiding Place, Corrie quotes Betsie’s answer: “If God has shown us bad times ahead, it’s enough for me that He knows about them. That’s why He sometimes shows us things, you know—to tell us that this too is in His hands” (1971).
Her firmly anchored trust in God brought contentment in circumstances we cannot even imagine. We can, however, trust in the same God!
Scripture Focus
Philippians 4:10-13
Insight
We can pray that God will build our trust in Him even when our circumstances would otherwise cause us to be discontent.
Bible In A Year
- 2 Samuel 13-14
- Psalm 142
- 1 Thessalonians 1-2
