Trust The Engineer - Corrie Ten Boom

1892–1983

When you were a child and you first learned about the Holocaust, you were probably in disbelief that such horrors could happen. The thought that everyday people would allow it to happen makes most kids think, I wouldn’t have gone along with it. I would have said it was wrong.

Yet everyday people did go along with it—but not Corrie ten Boom and her family. She and her family were Christians, part of the Dutch Reformed Church. Their church protested the Nazi persecution of the Jews, even though the Nazis claimed they were acting in the name of God.

Knowing the danger it would put them in, Corrie’s family hid Jews in their home during the Holocaust. They were successful for a while, but eventually they were arrested. Corrie and her sister Betsie were imprisoned in Ravensbruck concentration camp. Betsie died there, but because of a clerical error, Corrie was released a few days after her sister’s death.

After the war, Corrie created a home where survivors of the Holocaust could live and recover from their ordeal. Traveling extensively to talk about her experiences, she was never afraid to tell others what had happened to her. She freely expressed her faith in God, a faith that remained strong even in the concentration camp.

In the midst of the most difficult times, you might be tempted to wonder where God is—if he’s there at all. Sometimes you have to make choices during those tough times, even though you’re in the dark about what the outcome of those choices will be. Corrie had some thoughts about those times. She believed that “when the train goes through the tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

Trusting God when you have no idea what will happen next is a huge part of what faith is all about. If you knew what was going to happen, how much faith would you really need?

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Isaiah 41:10