Corrie ten Boom (1892 – 1983) was born into a Christian family in Holland. Her early claim to fame was that at the age of thirty-two she became the first licensed woman watchmaker in Holland. However, her real rise to international prominence began during Hitler’s invasion and occupation of Holland during World War II. You see it was during the war that the entire ten Boom family participated in secretly sheltering Jews, ultimately saving hundreds in the process.
Unfortunately, in 1944 their activities were discovered and Corrie, her father, and sister Betsie were arrested and sent to a German prison. Sadly, Corrie’s elderly father died within two weeks of his arrest and Corrie and her sister were sent to a work camp and later transferred to Ravensbruck, a Nazi concentration camp. It was at Ravensbruck that Betsie was among the 92,000 women who died there. But as providence would have it shortly after Betsie’s death, Corrie was released from the camp due to a clerical error. Sadly, shortly after her release all the other women in her age group at Ravensbruck were sent to the gas chamber.
After the war ended Corrie began an amazing career as a renowned Christian inspirational speaker who was invited to share her story and the wonderful message of the gospel and the need to practice forgiveness in over 60 countries. I highly recommend if you want to learn more about this inspirational woman that you read her book, The Hiding Place. In the meantime, I have assembled some of her more notable quotations below1 to give you a flavor for the wisdom of this precious lady.
“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”
“The wonderful thing about praying is that you leave a world of not being able to do something, and enter God’s realm where everything is possible. He specializes in the impossible. Nothing is too great for His almighty power. Nothing is too small for His love.”
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
“In order to realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the stress of the storm.”
“Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.”
“Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?”
“Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.”
“Don’t worry about what you do not understand… Worry about what you do understand in the Bible, but do not live by.”
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
“God buries our sins in the depths of the sea and then puts up a sign that reads, ‘No fishing.’”
“Nobody can take away from you those texts from the Bible which you have learned by heart.”
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
“The human spirit fails, except when the Holy Spirit fills.”
“The devil smiles when we make plans. He laughs when we get too
busy. But he trembles when we pray-especially when we pray together.”
“The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.”
“A person is either a missionary or a mission field.”
“Although the threads of my life have often seemed knotted, I know, by faith, that on the other side of the embroidery there is a crown.”
“When people come up and give me a compliment… I take each remark as if it were a flower. At the end of the day, I lift up the bouquet of flowers I have gathered throughout the day and say, ‘Here you are, Lord, it is all Yours.’”
“When we are powerless to do a thing, it is a great joy that we can come and step inside the ability of Jesus.”
“Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it.”
1All of these quotations are from the following website:
TOP 25 QUOTES BY CORRIE TEN BOOM (of 175) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
I have her book…”The Hiding Place”, and read it when it was first released. Also saw the movie…produced by the Billy Grahan Assoc, I think.
She was a remarkable woman.
Thanks for all these quotes.
Elaine