Corrie ten Boom, Her Story
22. When I Saw Death
WHEN I HEARD that my father had died in prison, I was alone in a cell. The prisoner who had been in the cell before me had written on the wall NoT LosT, BUT GONE BEFORE.
After the first shock, I realized what a great joy it was for Father to be with the Lord in the beautiful place that Jesus had prepared for him. Straight from the cell in a prison to that place of peace and love of God. I could thank the Lord that He had taken him home. Yes, he was not lost but gone before.
When I saw Betsie after she had died in the ward of the concentration camp, I saw an expression of intense joy and peace on her face. She even looked young. I could only thank and praise the Lord that He had taken her to Himself. It was as if her face reflected a little bit of the tremendous joy that her soul! experienced at that moment, when she went to be with the Lord.
I looked death in the eyes several times myself, and when fear came into my heart I told the Lord Jesus. He did not give me a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I knew that I did not have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death alone. Jesus was with me.
The moment I was almost sure that death was coming was when my number was called out when we were standing on roll call. I had to stand as number one in the front row. Many of us thought—also I myself—that we had been called out because they were going to kill us.
I stood there for three hours, and next to me was a Dutch girl I had never seen before. I said to myself: "This is now the last person on earth to whom I can bring oie, JESUS IS VICTOR SW8) the Gospel." And I did. She told me her life story. I told her that Jesus loved her and that He had given His life on the cross to bear her punishment. That girl said yes to Jesus.
I was not killed, I was set free. What do you think about death, about the death of your loved ones, and of yourself? Study the Bible, the answer is there. Talk with the Lord, He understands and loves you. When you come to Him, He will in no wise cast you out or send you away. Are you afraid? Give your fear to Him.