Total Surrender — Corrie Ten Boom

Total Surrender and the Cost of Compromise

What can God do with us when we just quit our compromise in the surrender and give ourselves? We have really no choice. We are bought with a very high price, the very lifeblood of Jesus. In my book, Amazing Love, I tell how once Dr. Oswald Smith spoke to us and he asked us, did you give all on the altar?

And he answered for himself, and he said, yes, I gave all on the altar. I have said, Lord, here is my time. And he put one book on the altar. Here is my money. Here is my family, and here is my house.

I have given all on the altar. My time, yes, but I've ordered a hotel for my vacation, and these two weeks vacation I keep for myself. One book went back. He said, my money. Oh, yes, I surrendered all my money to the Lord, but that money for that hotel I keep for myself.

A second book went back. He said, my family. I dedicated them all to the Lord, but my oldest daughter will be a missionary. I can't allow her that. We have a big family. She must help her mother. A third book went back.

My house. Oh, we had a beautiful dedication service when we entered it. It is the Lord's. But my sister is ill, and she has six naughty boys. I cannot invite these boys, for my house is spick and span, and they will make it dirty.

They're not my house. The altar is empty. I couldn't stand it. I left that meeting, and I had a talk with my Heavenly Father, and I said, Father, is the altar empty? And Father said, yes. And I took my life again, and I laid all on the altar.

Moment-by-Moment Surrender and the Filling of the Holy Spirit

It was not the first time, but it is not such a thing as a one for all being surrendered. Charles Inwood said it is a moment by moment confessing of your sins, a moment by moment being cleansed, surrendered, and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

After I had done that again, miracles happened in my life. Souls were saved. In the meetings, Christians awakened. Don't be afraid that you will have no vacation. Perhaps the Lord gives you a more beautiful hotel than you had ordered.

But in that hotel, you will be used to save souls for eternity. There is a cross and a throne in our hearts. Is Jesus on the throne? Then self is on the cross. Is self on the throne? Then Jesus is on the cross.

Surrender Means Obedience and Offering Our Blunders

Surrender means obedience. A little boy came from Sunday school. He said, Mom, I won't go to Sunday school anymore. He said, and you like it so much. He said, yes, but now I don't go. I will become a truck driver, and my teacher says I must be a sunbeam.

What does surrender mean? Surrender means surrender your blunders. One of the things. I found many people who were just like I. I hate myself after I have blundered. How in the world could I, Corrie ten Boom, be so stupid?

Let us surrender our blunders. You can never know what God does with it. I heard of a weaver school where the students made beautiful patterns, weavings. And the visitor said, see, what do you do when you make a mistake?

Must you cut it out or start from the beginning? And the student said, no, our teacher is such a great artist that when we make a mistake, he uses that mistake to improve the beauty of the pattern. That's what Jesus does.

A Blunder That Became an Opportunity for Evangelism

Some of you understand me. Others do not quite know what I mean. I was in Japan for the first time. I had the great difficulty that I could not recognize all these people with the same flat faces. There were about five different Japanese, but the rest were all the same like these five.

That could be very difficult. Once I had a student's group, a Bible group, and I saw a gentleman come. I thought, oh yes, that is the director of the theological seminary. But he wasn't. He was a professor of a non-Christian university.

But after I got through with my talk, I said, will you say now a word of prayer? He said, aye. I have never prayed in my life. Suddenly I saw who was who. I said, oh, professor, it doesn't matter. I will do it.

And I prayed. But Japanese people are very polite. And after meeting him, after the prayer, he came to me, bowing very deeply several times, and said, Mr. Bohm, I am so sorry that I couldn't do what you asked.

But really, I had never prayed before. I said, professor, I appreciate it. Perhaps someone who had been more superficial should have said a prayer without believing it. But therefore you are too good.

But by the way, why are you not a Christian? He said, oh no, first, and I must first study Christianity. I said, no. In my book it is not written those who study Christianity, God gives the power to become a child of God, but those who receive Jesus Christ, he gives them the power to become a child of God.

And I showed him the way of salvation, and after half an hour that professor made the decision that the angels in heaven rejoice. Do you see the picture? God used the blunder of a dumb Dutch to save the soul of that professor.

A strategic point in a university in Tokyo. Surrender your blunders. Surrender your discouragements. Surrender your worries. Trumbull says, worry is a black murder, God defying, Christ rejecting sin. Worry at any time for anything, whatever.

Though I must confess you that I have not yet graduated in the non-worry science. I am still studying, and I fear after I have graduated I must go to a post-graduate course. But Jesus is my teacher.

Philippians 4:6 and Surrendering Worry

The Bible says, don't worry over anything, whatever. Philippians 4, 6. Tell God every detail of your need in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends all human understanding will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.

When I was in a concentration camp, I knew why my sister and I were in that camp where 97 ,000 women were killed or died. In our room, in our barrack, many died with Jesus' name on their lips. And then we understood why God had allowed the enemy to bring us there.

First, I couldn't understand. I had prayed when I was first four months in solitary confinement in my own homeland. Every day I prayed, oh God, it is terrible to be alone in a cell, but I am still in Holland.

Oh, let the enemy never bring me to a German concentration camp. But God gave the no answer. But when I saw how God used my sister and me to save souls for eternity, I saw why God had not answered my prayers.

You know, our life is like an embroidery, and we do not see the pattern, but God sees always His side, and God has plans, no problems. There is never a panic in heaven. Yes, I understood why God had brought us there in that terrible camp.

It was worthwhile to be there because many people could never hear of Jesus afterwards because they were killed or died, but they died often with Jesus' name on their lips. And that was even worth Betsy's death.

Christ Bearing Our Sorrows in Isaiah 53

But I could not understand the suffering of these people around me. And one morning there were many newcomers, and they could hardly bear when I thought of the terrible suffering that was awaiting these poor women.

And then I opened my Bible and I read Isaiah 53, where the prophet sees Jesus at a cross, and he says, surely He has carried our sorrows. And then I understood when Jesus finished at the cross, He had not only carried our sins, but also our sorrows.

And that's why we are not called to be burden bearers, we are called to be light bearers and cross bearers. But our burden we must cast on the Lord and leave it there. And I can tell you, I came with a very heavy case, full with burdens, and I brought it in prayer to the Lord.

And I mentioned it one after the other. I said, oh Lord, here are these poor women. There were 800 newcomers, Lord. But the terrible suffering is waiting. These poor women, have mercy upon them. And then I brought Berlin.

Although Berlin was 50 miles away, often we saw the sky red by the flames. Berlin was bombed. Do you realize what that means? A bombed city for the children, for the sick people, for every human being.

And every night all the cities in Germany were bombed. I brought to the Lord all these people in the bombed cities. And then I brought Holland, my homeland, that had to suffer so terribly from the oppression of the enemies.

And then I brought my sister, who was far too frail to be in health to be a prisoner. And so I brought one thing after the other to the Lord till my whole case was empty. And then I said Amen. That was good.

That was praying. I cast my burden on the Lord and my case was empty. But what I did after my Amen was not good. I put all the burdens again in the case and my heart and my case was happier after my burden, after my prayer than before.

That's not praying. You must cast your burden on the Lord and leave it there and say my burden is too great for me to carry. Why should I do? Why should I be afraid when he who has all power and understanding waits to sustain?

Then why not ask his aid? To thee, O Lord divine, I bring my care. I lay it at thy feet and leave it there. But the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray like that. We can never get rid of worry if we do not handle it as a sin.

And that it is. We know what to do with our sins. 1 John 1, 7 and 9. Worry is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength, carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. It is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around the center of fear.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. It does not enable us to escape evil. It makes us unfit to cope with when it comes. I read it in a little booklet that I have written.

Surrendering Limitations and the “If-Only” Life

Don't wrestle, just nestle. It is out of print, but I hope to have it reprinted again. Surrender your limitations. How many Christians suffer under inferiority feeling? And then they think that it is humbleness.

But inferiority feeling is no humbleness, it is pride. It is that you do not accept that you are you. You will be more than you. Surrender means surrender your if-only's. There are many Christians with long faces because of the if-only's.

If only that roommate of mine went a little bit earlier to bed. If only I had more money. If only that teacher understood that my thoughts go a little bit slow when I am tired. If only I was married. That was in my life an if-only.

I was a healthy young woman and I loved a boy, a young man, and he loved me. But his mother wanted him to marry a rich wife and I had no money. And then there came a moment that that young man brought me his fiancée.

And he laid her hand in my hand and said, I wanted you to be friends. It was as if my heart was broken that moment. And after they had gone I went straight to my bedroom. And I said, Lord Jesus, I belong to you lock, stock and barrel.

Lord, I have already surrendered, but now again I surrender this part of my being that is wounded. Lord, I claim, Lord Jesus, your victory in that part of my being, my sex life, my longing to be married, to have children.

And I just talked it over with the Lord. And then I experienced that when you surrender something to the Lord, he uses that to demonstrate his victory. I've never had the joy to bring to birth a child.

But I had often the great joy to bring to the rebirth someone else. The creative power that a woman has to have married life and children, I could use in the kingdom of God. I've had a very happy life.

And Jesus has taken care so for me that I have never become a frustrated old spinster. But I had to surrender my, if only, surrender your business. When we belong to the Lord, everything belongs to the Lord.

Surrendering Business, Family, and the Holy Spirit’s Place

My father and I had watchmaker business. And father said sometimes, oh, my watchmaker business is my name, but really God's name should be on it. And that is a great joy. When we surrender all, then we can expect Christ's victory everywhere.

I think you know that story of a boy, a widow who had one boy, and she worked hard for him, and he became a doctor. She had so worked hard that he could study. But she was a very simple woman. And a doctor married a rich wife.

And once she said, far away from here is a very simple woman who has been good to me when I was a child. Do you think it is all right that she comes to live with us? And his wife said, of course. She's very welcome and she has been good for you.

And he invited his mother. But at the station he said, mother, never tell anyone that you are my mother. And there she lived in an attic room. But she always prayed for her children downstairs. Once the doctor's wife found out that that lady upstairs was their mother.

She went to her and she said, oh, mother, come down. I didn't know that we were your children. From that moment on, that house was blessed. Where does the Holy Spirit live in your life, in your house?

Did you only give him an attic room? Throw open all the doors. Recognize his presence and yield to his control. If Jesus is a guest in a little attic room, then no one knows he is there. His strength to protect is lost.

To lose your life for Jesus' sake, that means to gain, to win it. Surrender your past, your present, your future. Many Christians are like tightrope walkers, going from the past to the future. In one hand, to sack with the indigested past.

In the other hand, to sack with the anticipated future. Always balancing between hope and fear. But when you have a surrendered life, you are like going on an escalator. You stand relaxed and you are going higher and higher.

The High Price of Christ’s Redemption

That's going with Jesus. A surrendered life is relaxed. Now, I've spoken a little bit about the great joy of the surrender. But as a matter of fact, we have no choice. We are bought with a very high price.

The precious blood of Jesus. Did you give him his money's worth? Just imagine that I had still my jewelry store. And I sold you this watch. And you paid the whole price. But when I packed it, I removed the golden bracelet.

At home, you should find only the watch. I am sure you should tell everyone, don't buy from Corrie ten Boom. She does not give you your money's worth. Do you realise how high the price was that Jesus paid for your sins?

We make the cross of Jesus often so beautiful, but it was cruel. Perhaps we in the concentration camp have understood the fraction of that suffering. And it made us so thankful. We sometimes had to stand on a naked parrot.

We were stripped of all our clothing. Before October, we had to stand outside in the street. After October, inside the barracks. The first time was the worst. I have never felt so humbled, so miserable, so cold.

When I stood there and Betsy, my sister, stood beside me, I said, Betsy, I cannot bear this. This is so terrible. This is worse than what the enemy has done for us before. And I thought that I could break under the burden of that suffering.

And then suddenly it was as if I saw Jesus at the cross. And the Bible says, they took his garment. He hanged there naked. And by my own suffering, I understood only a fraction of the suffering of Jesus.

But it made me so thankful that I could bear my own. Love, so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all. In the Bible is written a text, The eyes of the Lord go to and fro to strengthen him whose heart is fully turned towards him.

Full Surrender and the Rivers of Living Water

May I ask you a question? Did you experience the rivers of living waters flowing through you and touch the very thirsty world around you? You didn't? May I ask you a question? When I keep this cup upwards, do you think there can come water in and out?

Of course not. Did you think that when your heart was turned towards the world that the Holy Spirit could use you for the streams of living water? Of course not. But I know your heart is not turned towards the world, otherwise you shouldn't be here.

Are you 50 -50? 50 turned towards the world and 50 turned towards God? Now look what happens. Nothing comes in and nothing comes out. But I have the idea that navigators are better. Are you 90 turned towards God and only 10 turned towards the world?

Oh, then you are better than Christians. Christians are only 60 turned towards God and 40 turned towards the world. Let us look what happens. Yes, there comes water in and there comes water out at one side.

Only when I keep the cup 100 upwards, now look what happens at all sides it streams over. What are you? You are not this. You are not 50 -50. Are you 99 .5 The eyes of the Lord go to and through this hole to fill with his Holy Spirit, whose heart is 100 surrendered.

Prayer for Complete Consecration

Let us pray. Thank you, Lord, that you will have us 100%. Oh, Lord, how great is your love for us that you will not compromise, but that you will have us 100 to demonstrate your victory in every corner of our lives.

Listen, Lord, who at this moment surrenders everything. Lord, I surrender my blunders, my limitations, my if-onlys, my sins, my bitterness. I thank you, Lord, when we bring our sins to you. You forgive and forget, and the sins are dead.

Search our hearts, Lord, our lives. If there is any compromise, thank you, Lord, that you have bought us with such a very high price. You press your blood. Forgive us, Lord, that we have not always lived like more than conquerors, because we tried hard to do it ourselves.

But now, Lord, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Did you hear it, Lord, who said it? Oh, Lord, what can you do for miracles with a 100 surrendered, decent sinner? Saved by grace.

Hallelujah. Amen.