“Jesus replied, ’You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
(John 13:7)
Betsie and Corrie ten Boom were sent to a concentration camp for harboring Jews during World War II. They witnessed horrible atrocities, but through it all they placed their hope in the Lord. The sisters managed to sneak in a Bible and shared God’s Good News with other prisoners – they even led worship services when they could. One of the many horrors the sisters had to endure was that the barracks they were in were infested with fleas. The bites were painful and frequent, but when Corrie complained to Betsie, her sister would say, ‘Be thankful for the fleas’ knowing God had a purpose for everything. Many years later, after leaving the camp, Corrie learned the brutal guards didn’t interrupt their worship services because they refused to enter the flea-infested barracks.
In the midst of turmoil, it is often difficult to understand why the Lord allows certain things to happen to us. Though we may never understand His purposes while on earth, we will understand His purposes when we reach heaven. Betsie died in the concentration camp, but some of her last words were, ‘There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.’ Hold on to that promise in the deepest valleys of your life, because God is with you through it all.