Christian Joy

Speaker Notes

Proverbs 15:13-17

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful,
    but heartache crushes the spirit.

14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge,
    but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
    but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

16 Better a little with the fear of the Lord
    than great wealth with turmoil.

17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love
    than a fattened calf with hatred.

Proverbs 25:20

20 Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day,
or like vinegar poured on a wound,
is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

Corrie ten Boom The Hiding Place, Chapter 13 “Ravensbruck” (pages 209-210) quote:

   Suddenly I sat up, striking my head on the cross-slats above. Something had pinched my leg.

   “Fleas!” I cried. “Betsie, the place is swarming with them!”

   We scrambled across the intervening platforms, heads low to avoid another bump, dropped down to the aisle, and edged our way to a patch of light.

   “Here! And here another one!” I wailed. “Betsie, how can we live in such a place?”

   “Show us. Show us how.” It was said so matter of factly it took me a second to realize she was praying. More and more the distinction between prayer and the rest of life seemed to be vanishing for Betsie.

   “Corrie!” she said excitedly. “He’s given us the answer! Before we asked, as He always does! In the Bible this morning. Where was it? Read that part again!”

   I glanced down the long dim aisle to make sure no guard was in sight, then drew the Bible from its pouch. “It was in First Thessalonians,” I said. We were on our third complete reading of the New Testament since leaving Scheveningen. In the feeble light I turned the pages. “Here it is: ‘Comfort the frightened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all….’” It seemed written expressly to Ravensbruck.

   “Go on,” said Betsie. “That wasn’t all.”

   “Oh yes: ‘… to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus –‘”

   “That’s it, Corrie! That’s His answer. ‘Give thanks in all circumstances!’ That’s what we can do. We can start right now to thank God for every single thing about this new barracks!”

   I stared at her, then around me at the dark, foul-aired room.

   “Such as?” I said.

   “Such as being assigned here together.”

   I bit my lip. “Oh yes, Lord Jesus!”

   “Such as what you’re holding in your hands.”

   I looked down at the Bible. “Yes! Thank You, dear Lord, that there was no inspection when we entered here! Thank You for all the women, here in this room, who will meet You in these pages.”

   “Yes,” said Betsie. “Thank You for the very crowding here. Since we’re packed so close, that many more will hear!” She looked at me expectantly. “Corrie!” she prodded.

   “Oh, all right. Thank You for the jammed, crammed, stuffed, packed, suffocating crowds.”

   “Thank You,” Betsie went on serenely, “for the fleas and for –“

   The fleas! This was too much. “Betsie, there’s no way even God can make me grateful for a flea.”

   “’Give thanks in all circumstances,’” she quoted. “It doesn’t say, ‘in pleasant circumstances.’ Fleas are part of this place where God has put us.”

   And so we stood between piers of bunks and gave thanks for fleas. But this time I was sure Betsie was wrong.

Gordon Hugenberger was senior pastor, Park Street Church (1997-2017) wikipedia

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