Thank God for the Fleas

It's hard to imagine giving thanks for a thing that causes pain & suffering because it also brings blessings, but such was the faith of the ten Booms.

Thank God for the Fleas

This week's devotions are written by my friend Jessica Hermann, former director of our college ministry at Great Hills Baptist Church.

- Pastor Danny

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Yesterday I shared a quick summary of the story of Corrie ten Boom. Today let's begin looking at some of my favorite stories from her life.

While Corrie and Betsy were at Ravensbrück, they stayed in a women's barracks with far too many women for how many beds were provided (if you could even call them beds). The conditions were extremely dire, and their beds were infested with fleas. Could you imagine being forced to work all day in such horrid conditions and then trying to rest in a flea-infested place? Amidst these horrible circumstances, however, the Lord was moving. Corrie had successfully smuggled a small Bible into the concentration camp while the Lord ordained a distraction during their search upon entering the camp. Betsy and Corrie began to be able to share the word of God with the other ladies and some of the women even requested for the sisters to read them the Scriptures every night. They had quite the ministry in the barracks sharing the gospel and the hope of Jesus with the other prisoners.

Betsy was convicted and encouraged by 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 which tells us to, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." Give thanks in all circumstances? How could one possibly give thanks in all circumstances while living under such evil rule? Betsy resolved in her heart to take the Scriptures for what they say and thanked God for the fleas in their beds. This was an act of obedience and trust. It was later on that they noticed the guards did not come into their barracks. This allowed them to boldly and freely proclaim Christ and read the Scriptures to the women they were living with. This also protected them from being assaulted by the guards. And why was it that the guards never entered into their particular barracks? The fleas. These little bugs which undoubtedly caused great suffering for the women sleeping in the infested straw had actually saved them from further abuse and opened the door for the words of our Lord to be shared. Thank God for the fleas!

This kind of faith is hard for some of us to even imagine. I'm sure we can all think of things in our lives that we wouldn't necessarily think to thank God for. I can think of plenty of things that I'm more apt to ask God to take away. And while it is surely possible for both of these prayers to be simultaneously active, far too often I look at things that cause me pain or suffering or even just inconvenience and only ask for their removal. But what would it look like to thank God for them? If God has allowed them in your life, then they are not without purpose. Even if I never understand or see how God is using it, am I willing to believe in faith that He has allowed it and therefore I ought to trust His plan?

I'll be honest: this is hard for me to understand, especially when I consider deep suffering. I think the lesson here is less about changing our feelings about things than it is about trusting God's heart and choosing to obey His Word. The point is not to just act like every terrible circumstance in your life is actually a wonderful thing that we should just jump for joy about. Rather, it is a call to live in obedience to the Scriptures and choose to thank God in all circumstances as an act of faith, believing that God wastes nothing. It is actually less about the actual circumstances and whether or not they are good and is more about the position of our heart. Will we trust God that He is present and working in all circumstances? Will we obey His word to give thanks in all circumstances? What it boils down to is, do we trust God?