The story of Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie, Dutch Christians living under Nazi occupation, stands as a powerful portrait of faith refined through suffering. Arrested for sheltering Jews, they were taken to a concentration camp where they endured beatings, backbreaking labor, and a filthy, overcrowded barrack infested with fleas. In those bleak surroundings, Betsie clung to the apostle Paul’s command in First Thessalonians to “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances,” and insisted that they obey it even in the camp. Corrie found it nearly impossible to give thanks for something as miserable as fleas, yet she later discovered that the infestation kept the guards away, allowing them to read the Bible openly to the women each night. The very thing that seemed pointless and cruel became God’s unexpected means of providing spiritual refuge.
Corrie later recounted these experiences in The Hiding Place, where she also confessed her own internal battles. She admitted feeling selfish, hoarding medicine, and clinging to her blanket in fear. This self-reliance spread within her like a spiritual cancer, gradually consuming her joy and diminishing the power of prayer and Scripture in her heart. But through reading Paul’s writings, especially in the Corinthians, she came to see how much she depended on herself rather than on Christ. Confessing her failures to the women around her brought a fresh return of joy, enabling her to worship honestly in the midst of darkness.
Scripture repeatedly reminds believers not to lose heart, because discouragement is a universal struggle. Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 4 while facing deep afflictions and tremendous pressure in ministry, preaching truth while constantly defending his own integrity. His words show why discouragement often overwhelms us and how we can process our experiences through the truths God has given. One of the first reasons we lose heart is that the gospel is veiled to many. Paul describes Satan as “the god of this age,” actively blinding the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the glory of Christ. If we expect that everyone will respond positively simply because we speak clearly, we will soon doubt either the message or our ability. But spiritual blindness is real, and only Christ can lift the veil. Paul himself was once blind until Christ intervened, and the same is true of anyone who comes to faith.
Another source of discouragement lies in the pressures, weakness, and suffering that come with following Christ. Paul speaks of being hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. Though our circumstances may differ from Paul’s, the pressures of obedience remain. Faithfulness to Christ—resisting sin, sharing the gospel, loving difficult people, serving in ministry, balancing work, home, and church—can leave us exhausted. On top of this come relational wounds, illness, job loss, and countless forms of hardship that whisper that God has abandoned us or that our labor is pointless. These struggles can intensify when those who reject God seem to prosper while those striving to live faithfully experience difficulty. The contrast makes it harder to persevere and easier to question God’s goodness. Even Corrie might have wondered why God allowed her and Betsie, who were doing good, to suffer so deeply.
In times of discouragement, Paul warns that two particular temptations grow strong: the temptation to deceive and the temptation to distort the word of God. When weary or overwhelmed, people often bend the truth in subtle ways—pretending work is more urgent to avoid difficult conversations at home, over-promising at the office, taking sick leave for ministry tasks, or appearing strong and faultless in church while covering up deeper issues. Paul himself faced accusations of insincerity, revealing how widespread the temptation is to protect ourselves with half-truths.
The second temptation is to soften or distort God’s word, especially when people do not respond to the gospel as we hope. There is a subtle pull to make the message more palatable—removing the call to repentance, avoiding the topic of sin or judgment, or embracing teachings like the prosperity gospel or hyper-grace, which highlight God’s love while hiding the holiness He demands. But removing the hard edges of Scripture prevents people from seeing the real Christ. Only the true gospel opens blind eyes; our edited versions cannot.
At the root of these temptations is a shift toward self-centered motives. We are tempted to seek success, validation, or relief from suffering rather than God’s glory. Paul directs our gaze away from ourselves, reminding us that Christians proclaim Christ as Lord and live as servants for the good of others. This perspective guards us from deception and keeps our ministry sincere.
Paul then grounds believers in deep truths that strengthen our hearts. God is continually transforming His people from the inside out. Even when outward circumstances decay, the Spirit is renewing us daily, giving us strength to renounce sin and grow in Christlikeness. God is also sovereign in salvation; the same God who commanded light to shine out of darkness is the One who makes His light shine in human hearts. Because salvation is His work, not ours, we do not despair when people reject the gospel. Our task is to shine faithfully while trusting His timing.
Paul also reminds us that though we are fragile “jars of clay,” God preserves us with His all-surpassing power. We may feel pressed yet are never crushed, perplexed yet never in despair, struck down yet not destroyed. God’s sustaining strength is real, not merely a change of attitude. Every endurance through hardship becomes a stage on which the life of Jesus is displayed through us.
Finally, believers endure because we possess a hope that stretches beyond this world. The God who raised Jesus will raise us also. This hope compels us to speak and strengthens us not to give up. Our troubles, though heavy in the moment, are achieving a future glory beyond comparison. The visible world is temporary; the unseen realities are eternal. Fixing our eyes on what is unseen becomes the key to persevering with joy.
Even mature Christians can lose heart, which is why we must constantly behold the unseen work God is doing—His daily renewal, His sustaining power, His purposes in our weakness, and the promise that glory awaits us. As we walk honestly and humbly before Him, doing all things for Jesus’ sake and the good of others, the life of Christ becomes visible through our frailty. Others see His light in us and discover the same hope.
In prayer we remember the God who is sovereign over every circumstance—the God who used fleas to protect a Bible study in a concentration camp, who meets us in our lowest valleys and highest mountains, who sustains and shapes us until Christ is fully formed in us. He is faithful to preserve His people and to bring us into the abundant life found in His Son.
