No, I didn’t mess up… I just slid the focus to the next verse. Today I want to tell you about one of the stories that really impacted me when I heard it.

During the horrors of World War II, a young Jewish woman named Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie ten Boom were arrested for helping Jews escape the Nazis. They were eventually sent to the concentration camp at Ravensbrück concentration camp.

When they arrived at their barracks, the conditions were unbearable. Overcrowded. Filthy. Dark. And worst of all it was completely infested with fleas. The infestation was overwhelming. The women could barely sleep. Their skin crawled constantly. It was miserable.

One day, as they read Scripture together, they came across the command:

“Give thanks in all circumstances…”

Betsie insisted they should thank God for everything in their barracks. Corrie thanked God for the people, for the opportunity to be together. But when Betsie said, “Thank Him for the fleas,” Corrie refused. There was no way fleas could be from God. But Betsie persisted. So reluctantly, Corrie prayed and thanked God… even for the fleas. Weeks passed.

And then they realized something shocking. The guards never came into their barracks. While other buildings were constantly monitored, interrupted, abused, and searched, the guards stayed away from theirs. Why? Because of the fleas.

Those fleas created a barrier that kept the guards out—and because of that, Corrie and Betsie were able to hold Bible studies, pray openly, and share the gospel freely with other women in the camp. What seemed like a cruel inconvenience… was actually God’s unexpected provision.

Corrie later wrote that what she once resisted thanking God for became the very thing that allowed ministry to happen in the darkest place imaginable. Sometimes we pray for God to move, and He answers. But the answer doesn’t look like what we expected.

Sometimes the answer is uncomfortable.

Sometimes it’s confusing.

Sometimes it even feels like the opposite of what we asked for.

But God sees what we cannot see. He is working in ways we don’t yet understand. And sometimes… The very thing we want removed is the very thing God is using.

Today, ask God for the faith to trust Him not only in His answers, but in how He answers. And honestly, be brave enough to pray for “whatever it takes!” We all have those people in our lives that need Jesus, and it feels like it’s going to have to be a move of God. Pray for that move and be thankful when He moves! 

Bring before Him something in your life that is difficult, frustrating, or uncomfortable, and choose to trust that He is working even there.

Prayer focus

Lord, I trust that You are working in every circumstance of my life—even the ones I don’t understand. Give me the faith to trust Your answers, even when they come in ways I wouldn’t choose. Teach me to see with spiritual eyes and to believe that You are always good. Amen.