WE WERE IN Africa. Prisoners were dancing. The pounding rhythm created
... Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, or where we are—high above the sky, or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us.
Romans 8:38, 39
2. No Time for Anxiety
WE WERE IN Africa. Prisoners were dancing. The pounding rhythm created an atmosphere of demonical darkness. The expressions of the dancers' faces made me afraid. It was as though they were dancing themselves into a trance, possessed by dark powers. Their shouting influenced the other dancers, causing the gloomy darkness in their eyes to increase every minute.
These people were criminals. They knew what it was to be inspired by hell itself. Next to me were three black Christian brothers, who had accompanied me to this place hidden far away in the jungle—the place where I was to speak. We waited for the prison director to join us.
At last he came. He was a friendly man, but I could see that he knew how to make people obey. "I am so glad you came to speak to my men." He clapped his hands and shouted, "Stop dancing! Sit down and listen to what Miss ten Boom has to tell you."
I saw the anger flash in their eyes. It was hard for these men to part from the spirits who had kept them in their power. About four hundred men settled down in front of me, and about two hundred were standing behind me. I saw not one friendly face among the six hundred: I looked at my three black Christian brothers and felt uneasy that not one white man had accompanied me. I underestimated those men badly, as I later clearly discovered.
I softly prayed, "Lord, I know that those who are with me are more and stronger than those who are against me. Let Your never-failing love fill my heart and mouth, and also the man who will interpret for me."
JESUS IS VICTOR
I spoke rather a long time to those prisoners, and I saw the expressions on their faces change as they heard me say, "Jesus loved you when He died on the cross for the sins of the whole world." I never saw such a dramatic change in people. They came from darkness into light; from the darkness of hell into the light of heaven.
As we waited at the gate while a guard found the key, a prisoner came running toward me. He took my hand and said something. My interpreter translated, "You came to us because God's love is in you. Thank you. Thank Him!"
We squeezed into the tiny car and headed down the primitive path through the jungle, going toward Kampala. The moment we got into the car, my three brothers began to sing and praise the Lord. I was sitting in the front seat, squeezed against the driver. The other two men were crowded into the tiny backseat. But even our cramped positions did not keep them from singing and praising God as we roared through the dense jungle.
What a strange sight we must have been, bouncing down the jungle road, weaving from side to side to miss the holes and puddles, singing and praising the Lord in loud voices!
I saw a man ahead, standing on the side of the narrow road. He had the tire and wheel from a car leaning against his leg. The driver slowed the car to a stop and shouted across me, "What is the matter, my friend?"
"Please bring me to Kampala," he pleaded. "My tire is flat, and my wheel is broken."
What a pity we have no room, | thought. But my happy black brothers saw no such problem. "Of course," they shouted together. "Join us. We like to help our brothers in the name of Jesus."
The man came around to the other side of the car, to get into the front seat between the driver and me. While he was walking around, one of the men in the backseat leaned forward and whispered. "Pray with us, Tante Corrie, that we bring him to the Lord before we reach Kampala."
How they squeezed him in, I'll never know. But soon we were on our way again, the man jammed between the driver and me holding that big, rusty car wheel and the dirty black tire on his lap. The men in the car began singing and praising the Lord again, keeping time with the bumps in the road.
The driver began to talk to the man in his own language, and the other men enthusiastically entered in. I could not understand what they were saying, but I knew they were talking to him about the Lord Jesus. I prayed, keeping my eyes on the road.
Suddenly the passenger looked at the driver and said something. One of the men in the backseat interpreted for me. The passenger was asking if he knew the driver. Hadn't they met before?
"Sure," the driver answered. "Last year you and I were in the same prison, where we have just been with Miss ten Boom. You know, boy, at that time I served the devil. Now I serve Jesus Christ. He uses me to save lives of other sinners, and He will use you from now on, also."
The man with the big wheel on his lap listened intently. Before long, he accepted Jesus as his Saviour. I wanted to join in the men's happy praises, but I was too concerned about the road and the wild way in which the driver was swerving from side to side. Surely we'll all be killed, | worried.
Then, ahead, we saw a woman with two children waiting alongside the road. "Let us give her a lift and also bring her to Jesus," one of the men shouted.
Did he really mean it? There was absolutely no room! The car stopped, and for a minute I entertained the hope that they were just going to witness to her where she was and drive on. But no, they motioned her to join us in the car!
As she got in the backseat with her two children, I saw a third child come out from under her coat. Somehow they all got in, sitting on top of one another. One of the small children had to crawl over my shoulder and sit on my lap. I could not feel my legs. Never, never had I been in such an overcrowded automobile—and on such a terrible road.
We started up again, the car rolling from right to left, left to right, bouncing off rocks and logs alongside the road, weaving over shaky jungle bridges. But the black men were tremendously happy, believing the Lord had put the woman there so they could pick her up and witness to her. This time, all four of the men—including the one with the big wheel on his lap—eagerly joined in the conversation, telling the woman about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Suddenly the four men began to sing. "Tuku tenderesa Jesu," an African song of praise. The woman had accepted Jesus as her Saviour and Lord.
We arrived in Kampala and swerved through the traffic, the men still singing and banging their hands against the side of the automobile in time with the music. Our fellow travelers left us—the man with the big wheel and the woman with her three children—but not until my friends had obtained their names so they could follow up their work. Then they took me to the place I was staying.
After they had gone, I sat for a long time, rubbing life back into my legs and trying to get some insight into the events of the afternoon. While I, the cautious European, had been so anxious and worried about the fierce prison, the horrible road, the old car, and the discomforts and dangers of the trip, my black brothers had no time for anxiety. They were too busy praising God and sharing the good news with those whom God sent into their path. They did not see the people along the road as problems, but as opportunities.
Perhaps, I thought, as I lay back on the bed to rest my aching body, if I would spend less time worrying whether the car would run, the road was paved, or the bridges would hold—and lose myself in praise and service as these African brothers did—I would not only live longer, but more abundantly. While I was anxious about reaching my destination, they were excited about meeting people along the way. Reaching the destination seemed almost incidental to praising God and serving Him as they went.
Maybe the way in which we travel and the attitude we have while making our way through life is more important than reaching our destination. Or could it be that in God's sight, the way actually is the destination?
Jesus said "... lam the Way—yes, and the Truth and the Life..." (John 14:6).
From My Notebook
IT IS BETTER to burn out than to smolder out without having warmed one heart for the Lord Jesus.
Happiness is not dependent on happenings, but on the relationship that persists in the happening.
When we act on the Word of God, and not on our feelings, we experience that God means His promises. The fact is that God watches over His Word to perform it.
Slow me down, Lord, I am going too fast, I can't see my brother, When he is going past.
I miss a lot of good things Day by day, I can't see a blessing When it comes my way
When the heart has learned to trust Him as He should be trusted, utterly without reservations, then the Lord throws wide the doors of the treasure house of grace. He bids us go in with boldness and receive our share of the inheritance of the saints.
Be sure you remain covered with a canopy of praise. It is like a tent over and around you. Satan has no entrance as long as you pin down the sides by praising, and thank God for His wonderful promises.
In the life of the true believer there are no accidents.
My little children, I am telling you this so that you will stay away from sin. But if you sin, there is someone to plead for you before the Father. His name is Jesus Christ... .
1 John 2:1
Don't worry over anything whatever; whenever you pray tell God every detail of your needs in thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which surpasses human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6 PHILLIPS
BEFORE THE BATTLE, the general always sends his spies into the enemy camp. They take photographs of secret defenses, they learn the enemy's battle positions, their ammunition supply points, even the personal weaknesses of the opposing leaders. But unless the general passes this information on to his own troops, they cannot win the battle.
That is why I want to share with you some of the things I have learned about the enemy and about the Victor, Jesus. I want you to know that God expects us to be conquerors over the powers of darkness—not only for the sake of our personal victory and for the liberation of others who are in bondage to Satan, but for His glory. He wants the world to know that He is triumphant and victorious, and the only way it will ever know is by our demonstration of God's power and authority.
Once a man saved up his money for years and bought the house of his dreams.
It was in the countryside, with mountains and streams all around it. He could not wait to begin living in his new house, but because of his business, he could not move in for several months. So he allowed the man who was living there to stay as a caretaker until he was ready to move in himself.
But when the new owner came to move into his dream house, the other man said, "No, I am staying here. You find somewhere else to live."
"But you promised you would move out when I was ready," the owner said. The man gave a laugh and replied, "This is my home. You cannot come in." Then he slammed the door in the owner's face and locked it.
The owner marched straight to the police station with his papers of ownership.
The next time he knocked on the door of his house, there were two large policemen standing next to him. When the man in the house saw the policemen, he meekly packed his belongings and left the house to its owner.
What the true owner of the house could not do in his own strength, he was able to do when he appeared with authority on his side. It is the same with us. Satan may laugh at us and continue to afflict us with disease, fear, anxiety, and defeat. But when we come to him in the name of Jesus, he knows we have all the authority of the Kingdom of God behind us, and he must flee.
Worry Is Sin
I had to learn that worry is sin before I could get rid of the worry. First I tried to "fear not" as an act of obedience. It was as successful as trying to kill a lion with a toy gun. Then I began to learn the secrets. First you must ask forgiveness for your sin of worry. Then you need to accept the cleansing of the blood of Jesus.
Finally, you need to let God fill you with the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of fear will flee, forced out by power and love and a sound mind.
In the latter part of 1946, a group of Christian ladies in Ottawa asked me to give my testimony at an evening meeting.
I did not even know where I would sleep that night, but I went in obedience. I felt it was a training in trusting God. How good that the coach was the Lord Himself!
It was the first time that I had been in Canada. I remember that the spirit of worry was very busy with me. Sometimes my traveling went smoothly. God gave me friends who organized my meetings, and I went where He told me to go. But now I was not quite sure of the Lord's guidance. At such moments I felt far from Holland. A big ocean was between my hometown and me.
So often that tramp for the Lord, the prisoner Paul, had helped me. I opened my Bible and read what he wrote from his prison in Rome: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6, 7 KJV). My, but Paul knew about worry! Still, he found the answer: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13 kjv).
I did not even know where I would sleep that night, but God had used Paul to encourage me, and I trusted Him.
That evening, I told-my problem to the dear people who heard my talk, and sure enough, a lady came to me and said, "You are very welcome in my home. I have a small guest room you may use." I had been worried about finding a place to sleep, but the Lord had the answer all worked out for me!
What a joy to be surrounded by kind people. Before I fell asleep, I thought of the time shortly before, when enemies were all around me, and how they hated me because of what I had done for the Jews. Soon I was sound asleep.
Suddenly the light in my room came on. I opened my eyes, and a uniformed officer was standing in front of me. My only thought was, This is the Gestapo. They have found me. | said to the man, "I am not a Jew." Then I remembered where I was and told him that I was a guest of the lady of the house. Without a word, the man put the light out and left.
What had happened? He was the owner of the house and had come home late. He did not want his wife to see him at that hour, especially since he had been drinking too much that night. He decided to go to the guest room, but his plan misfired because of my presence there. When he told his wife, she was very disturbed. What a shock it must have been for her guest! She put on her robe and ran to my room. There she found me, fast asleep!
Some months later, I met my host again. It was a bitterly cold evening. I had spoken that afternoon in a town some distance from Ottawa, where I was to speak in the evening. Friends had brought me to a house halfway between the two towns, and my former host was waiting there. He told me that he was going to take me to Ottawa, where the meeting was to start at 8 P.M.
The highway was so icy that we skidded from right to left. I looked at my friend and saw that he had given himself courage for the drive by taking some drinks, and it was not a little amount that he had enjoyed. I thought about the coming evening. How could I sit for hours in that car, worrying about the slippery road and his driving, and then still have the power to speak? I couldn't. I was worried— I thought I had reason to be—but I knew that my worry was a sin. I would have to ask forgiveness for my sin and trust the Lord to deliver us safely to Ottawa.
I prayed for strength and then said to the driver, "Jim, I am going to speak tonight, and it is impossible for me to worry for several hours beforehand, while you skid from right to left and left to right. So I hope you don't mind, but I am going to sleep."
Jim smiled and said, "You go ahead. I will drive and not sleep." And he did. The Lord gave me a very good rest.
The young girl who was my secretary at that time was sitting behind me, and she told me later that I snored all the way. That was a comfort to her, because she knew that I was not worried, but she said it was still the most terrible car ride of her life. We arrived safely, on time for the evening meeting, and I was refreshed and ready for my talk.
God's Armor
The battle always has to be fought before the victory is won, though many people think they must have the victory before the battle. The conflict with worry and fear is almost always there—each person must overcome or be overcome. But we must fight each battle of our lives in the strength of Jesus' victory. He said, "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21): We are to be like Jesus—One of whom Satan is afraid!
When we worry, we are carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength; carrying two days in one. We are moving into tomorrow ahead of time. There is just one day in the calendar of action—today. The Holy Spirit does not give a clear blueprint of our whole lives, but only of the moments, one by one.
We all have the same enemies—we are all preyed upon by frustration and worry.
In India, Australia, Japan, Germany—we need the same Holy Spirit. We need to remember that we are children of God, living within His constant care. God knows and is interested both in the hardest problems we face and the tiniest details that concern us. He knows how to put everything in place, like a jigsaw puzzle, to make a beautiful picture.
But Satan has a very good secret service. The moment you step out from under God's umbrella of grace, you are discovered and attacked by Satan. Recognition of Satan's attack is half the fight. An attacking enemy who is not recognized already has half his battle won. Never knowing where, how, and when Satan will attack us, we should never be unprotected or unprepared. We need to be clothed with the whole armor of God.
Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power within you. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. ...So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.
Ephesians 6:10, 11, 13 LB
What a relief to know that we do not need to provide the armor! God makes the armor—we just put it on. But the armor has no protection for the back, for God does not expect any deserters. Neither is the armor a museum piece—it is given for us on the battlefield. Jesus is Victor!
Every temptation to worry or fear is an opportunity for victory. It is a signal to fly the flag of our Victor. It is the chance to make the tempter know anew that he is defeated.
Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.
1 Chronicles 29:11, 12 kjv
From My Notebook
WORRY IS A cycle of inefficient thoughts, whirling around a center of fear.
Worry is often carrying a load that one should not carry at all. Worry is distress of mind, not concern. Some people ought to have more concern.
It is sinking under the sense of responsibility, yielding to the fear that there may be failure, instead of gripping the lines and whip and determining to ride down the chance of its coming.
S. D. GORDON
God gives us His power to bear all the sorrow of His making. But He does not give us the power to bear the sorrows of our own making, which the anticipation of sorrow most assuredly is.
IAN MACLAREN
The purpose of being guilty is to bring us to Jesus. Once we are there, then its purpose is finished. If we continue to make ourselves guilty—to blame ourselves— then that is sin in itself.