Corrie Ten Boom was a young woman in Nazi Germany whose family helped hundreds of Jewish families escape Hitler’s death camps. Tragically, her entire family perished in the Nazi Concentration camps. After the war ended, she travelled the globe preaching about the importance of forgiveness. Following one of her talks in Holland, an officer who was at Ravensbrook concentration camp approached Corrie to ask for her forgiveness. All of the pain and grief came flooding back to Corrie when she recognized that this man had been one of the officers at Ravensbrook. As he held out his hand awaiting her reply, all she could see was the skeletal form of her dear sister, Betsy, who had died at Ravensbrook. Although she had just spoken on forgiveness, she found that she was unable to take his hand. As she stood there motionless, Corrie says that she cried out to God, “help!” Suddenly, Romans 5:5 came to her mind.
“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” At once, an overwhelming love for this man flooded her heart, and she reached out to warmly embrace him as she extended her heartfelt forgiveness.
That day, God gave Corrie His very own love for that officer. This same passage from Romans also says “…how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).
Here is the wonderful news: righteousness is a gift.
So what do you do with the gap between what you should be doing and who you really are in this moment? As a counselor, I listen to personal struggles every day. When I hear them, I will usually ask where God is in the midst of the problem. Often, people tell me that they had not considered that God could be a source of help. “I should know better” is the common response.
I used to feel the same way. I constantly failed and made many resolutions to “do better next time.” I became so exhausted by my futile attempts at righteousness that I eventually gave up entirely. I was so tired of believing the lie that God was disappointed in me and that I was a hopeless case. I was desperate for help after all of my best efforts landed me in a dark pit of addiction from which escape was impossible.
It was in this pit that I began to discover that we are not supposed to try to generate, produce, or manufacture our own righteousness. As I began to accept defeat- and trust God to do that which I could not do, changes began to take place inside of me. My desires began to change and transform as I simply stayed connected to God. As a wise friend once said to me, an apple tree doesn’t strive to produce an apple, it just remains connected to the vine.
The outrageously wonderful news is that God accepts you right where you are today, no matter how many times you have "failed." (I use that word with quotes because I personally never use it, but for the sake of clarity I am saying it.) I want to say that again because it is the point at which many people begin to struggle in their own strength or just give up entirely. God accepts you where you are no matter how many times that you have been there.
And the second part of the good news is perhaps the most glorious part! God has made a way out for you through Christ Jesus. God is the Way-Maker. He only works in impossible situations. Corrie’s story is a beautiful example of exchanging God’s nature with our nature. Give up and admit defeat, then look up to God and cry to Him. God will be waiting for you in that pit with open arms and a loving embrace. He is not like us at all. He is love; unspeakable, unimaginable, unfathomable love. It seems too wonderful to be true, but it is the truth.
I hope that this is good news for someone who is weary and losing hope. I have included some scriptures for those who want to go deeper. Study the scriptures until faith comes alive in your heart. God wants to open up the eyes of our heart and He does it through the living word of God. I would also recommend any books by Andrew Murray as he has a unique ability to communicate this truth.
For further study: Romans 6-8; Galatians 5:4-5 and v.16; 2 Corinthians 3; Colossians 2:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
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