Corrie ten Boom was a Jewish Christian who lived in Germany during World War II. She and her older sister, Betsy, were rounded up by the Nazis and taken by train to one of the worst concentration camps in all of Germany. Upon their arrival there, the sisters were tattooed with a number and placed into a cabin barrack for women. The barrack was so overcrowded the sisters had to sleep on the floor. What made their barrack even more gruesome than all the others was the flea infestation. Day after day, the women had to endure flea bites.
Early on in their imprisonment, the sisters decided to study their Bibles together and invite all the other women to join them. Most of the women showed no interest, but a few did. Every morning the sisters would lead in a time of Bible study and prayer. They lived under the constant fear that the guards would burst in at any time, confiscate their Bibles, and punish those who took part in the group.
Betsy was eager to obey the passage, but Corrie just couldn’t bring herself to give thanks for the fleas. Weren’t years of imprisonment bad enough? Wasn’t having to sleep on the floor bad enough? Why did their barrack, of all the barracks, have to be infested with fleas? If God was allowing the sisters to go through this time of injustice, the least He could do was take away the fleas. In the end, though, Betsy made Corrie thank God for the fleas. Older sisters do that kind of thing.
I don’t have a flea problem at my house. I can’t even remember the last time I was bitten by a flea. But I sure do have some other “fleas” for which I am hard pressed to be thankful. I didn’t ask for them. I didn’t see them coming. I don’t even think I deserve them. But I’ve got ’em. And the Bible says that I’m to give thanks for them. That isn’t easy.
No, everything isn’t good, particularly my problems. But God can use everything, even my problems, for good. As those two faithful sisters discovered, He can even use fleas.
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Fleas or even worse, we don’t always know why. But we must remember, that in all things to give thanks.