Confidence: Keep Trusting God

Intro

Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom was born in Haarlem, Netherlands, in 1892, and grew up in a Christian family. She trained to be a watchmaker and became the first woman licensed watchmaker in Holland.

In May 1940, the German Blitzkrieg ran though the Netherlands and the other Low Countries. Within months, the "Nazification" of the Dutch people began and the quiet life of the ten Boom family was changed forever. During the war, the Beje house became a refuge for Jews, students and intellectuals. The façade of the watch shop made the house an ideal front for these activities. A secret room, no larger than a small wardrobe closet, was built into Corrie's bedroom behind a false wall. The space could hold up to six people, all of whom had to stand quiet and still. A crude ventilation system was installed to provide air for the occupants. When security sweeps came through the neighborhood, a buzzer in the house would signal danger, allowing the refugees a little over a minute to seek sanctuary in the hiding place.

The entire ten Boom family became active in the Dutch resistance, risking their lives harboring those hunted by the Gestapo. Some fugitives would stay only a few hours, while others would stay several days until another "safe house" could be located. Corrie ten Boom became a leader in the "Beje" movement, overseeing a network of "safe houses" in the country. Through these activities, it was estimated that 800 Jews' lives were saved.

On February 28, 1944, a Dutch informant told the Nazis of the ten Booms' activities and the Gestapo raided the home. They kept the house under surveillance, and by the end of the day 35 people, including the entire ten Boom family, were arrested, Although German soldiers thoroughly searched the house, they didn't find the half-dozen Jews safely concealed in the hiding place. The six stayed in the cramped space for nearly three days before being rescued by the Dutch underground.

Ten Boom was initially held in solitary confinement. After three months, she was taken to her first hearing. On trial, ten Boom spoke about her work with the mentally disabled; the Nazi lieutenant scoffed, as the Nazis had been killing mentally disabled individuals for years based on their eugenics ideologies. Ten Boom defended her work, saying that in the eyes of God, a mentally disabled person might be more valuable "than a watchmaker. Or a lieutenant."

At the concentration camp, her and her sister held worship services using a Bible that they had managed to sneak in. Betsie ten Boom soon became ill and died. But before she died she told Corrie, "There is no pit so deep that He [God] is not deeper still." Fifteen days after the death of her sister Betsie, Corrie was released. Afterwards, she was told that her release was due to a clerical error and that a week later, all the women in her age group were sent to the gas chambers.

Corrie ten Boom returned to the Netherlands after the war and set up a rehabilitation center for concentration camp survivors. In the Christian spirit to which she was so devoted, she also took in those who had cooperated with the Germans during the occupation.

You would think that having gone through all of that, she would certainly have lost her faith. Having been betrayed by her own people, having lost her family, and not knowing if she would even survive, she was able to recount all of her struggles in a book called “The Hiding Place” where she also wrote “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

How is it that she could trust God. Hadn’t God let her down? Hadn’t God forgotten her? Where was the all-powerful loving God of the universe in those moments, in the life of the Ten Boon’s and the lives of millions of Jews and others who died during the Holocaust?

Why is it that Corrie Ten Boon continued to trust in God despite all her circumstances?

Body

We come to the final section of our series on Confidence: Keep Trusting God.

Just a reminder:

(SLIDES)

BAR..

Keep Trusting God

This can be difficult to do. Maybe the first points did not cause us much anxiety because we do them out of duty.

Boldness to Proclaim- we ought to do it. God commanded us.

Assurance in Christ’s Work- we have faith that Christ paid it all and that can bring us joy

Resolve to Stand Firm in His Word- We all need a foundation. It is a good standard maybe you think, even though it is much more than that.

But Keeping our Trust in God. Maybe we are placing too much trust in ourselves for the other points. Thinking that the strength comes from within us to be able to do the above things.

But Trusting God is not hoping that God will keep His promises. It is not hoping that God will remember you in your situations. It is not hoping at all. Trusting in God is knowing that God’s Word is true and you find that all of your being depends on it. You depend on Him and have a full assurance in Him.

Proverbs 16:20

ESV- Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

Sound speech is a very good thing, but truly wise behavior is to trust in God. This is much better.

And so why do we trust God?

Do we trust God only when things turn out in our favor?

Daniel 3:16-18

Do we trust God only when the culture or the governing authorities allow us?

Acts 4:19-20; Acts 4:29

Do we trust God when we are in the majority?

1 Kings 18:14 (even though he really wasn’t the only one)

So when do we trust God?

1. We Trust God Always and Keep Trusting Him

Psalm 62:8 HCSB

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

Psalm 37:3 LEB

Trust Yahweh and do good. Abide in the land and feed on faithfulness.

2. Trust in God’s Promises. He is faithful

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 2

This saying is trustworthy:

For if we have died with Him,

we will also live with Him;

12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him;

if we deny Him, He will also deny us;

13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful,

for He cannot deny Himself.

Matthew 7:9–11 LEB

Or what man is there among you, if his son will ask him for bread, will give him a stone? Or also if he will ask for a fish, will give him a snake? Therefore if you, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

3. Trust in God in this life, no matter the circumstance

Proverbs 3:5–6 HCSB

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.

Psalm 56:3 HCSB

When I am afraid, I will trust in You.

Conclusion

John 16:31-33

The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 16

31 Jesus responded to them, “Do you now believe? 32 Look: An hour is coming, and has come, when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. 33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

This was no pep talk by Jesus. This was a promise of God. This was the victory of Christ! Satan and the demons and the world were cheering their victory. Crying out they they had won. Things looked bleak. The disciples doubted. Wondering what was to happen. They all doubted, they were all scattered. But when Christ appeared to them, they finally understood the victory. They finally understood the promise of eternal life because they had seen the resurrection and the life.

We do not need to lack in confidence.

We can be bold....

We can live with assurance...

We can have a resolve to stand firm....

We can trust God, for He is good. He has won. He has overcome. His ways are true. Believe in Him. Live with Confidence…not in your wisdom, wealth, and, so we don’t have another W, abilities. Live with Confidence in Him.