We're Back: God Never Left!

Devotional

Day 1: Giving Thanks for Lice in the Darkest Bunk

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsy faced unimaginable suffering in Ravensbrück, yet discovered God’s hidden purpose in their torment. When lice infested their barracks, Betsy insisted they thank God—not for the pests, but for the unexpected freedom to share Scripture without guards’ interference. This story challenges believers to look beyond surface-level discomforts and trust God’s unseen strategies. Even when life’s “ingredients” seem bitter, divine purpose simmers beneath. What appears obstructive may become protective. [08:23]

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:18, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle feels like “lice” in your life? How might God be using it to create space for His work where human interference cannot reach?

Day 2: Stolen Years, Steered Purpose

Joseph’s cry—“I was stolen!”—echoes the frustration of derailed plans. For years, betrayal, false accusations, and prison defined his story. Yet God steered every hardship to position Joseph as Egypt’s deliverer. What Joseph called theft, God called placement. The same hands that shackled him later bowed to him. Delay is not denial. God’s commentary over our chaos remains: “The Lord was with him.” [18:38]

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
(Genesis 50:20, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you felt “stolen” from? How might God be repurposing that loss to preserve life—yours or others’?

Day 3: Backside of the Desert, Mount of God

Moses’ 40-year detour in Midian felt like exile. Yet the “backside of the desert” became the “mount of God” where Yahweh spoke from burning bushes. Barren places train us to see sacredness in obscurity. Like Jacob at Luz, we often realize too late: “God was in this place.” Wilderness seasons aren’t punishments but proving grounds for divine encounters. [24:28]

“Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
(Exodus 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: What “desert” in your life might actually be holy ground? How could shifting your perspective reveal God’s presence there?

Day 4: God Sees, Steers, Sustains in Midnight Praises

Paul and Silas didn’t sing in prison because they knew an earthquake was coming. They sang because they knew the Singer. Providence means God foresees, navigates, and sustains—even through chains. Their midnight hymn wasn’t a trick to escape but trust in the One who engineers earthquakes and saves jailers. True praise anchors not in outcomes, but in the Steersman. [29:34]

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken.”
(Acts 16:25–26, ESV)

Reflection: What “midnight” situation tempts you to silence? What hymn of trust could you offer God there, regardless of outcomes?

Day 5: Unseen Cooking in the Master Chef’s Kitchen

Corrie’s lice, Joseph’s chains, and Paul’s prison cell were bitter ingredients in God’s recipe. Romans 8:28 isn’t a platitude but a promise: the Divine Chef blends all things—even evil—into His redemptive feast. We taste the ash; He sees the phoenix. Trust isn’t understanding the recipe but knowing the Cook. [33:40]

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28, ESV)

Reflection: What life ingredient seems irredeemably bitter? How might surrendering it to the Master Chef shift your posture from frustration to anticipation?

Sermon Summary

Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones sets the frame, and the Spirit’s breath turns it. In a land thought spiritually still, God gathers bones and puts sinew on them. The Netherlands shows it. Across north and south, in city after city, a younger generation leans in during worship and the word, and pastors pray with fresh faith for awakening. Ministries work together. Social currents begin to bend another way. The Lord is breathing.

The Ten Boom home in Haarlem becomes a parable of providence. A century of family prayer for the Jewish people readies a house to hide them, then betrayal sends Corrie and Betsie to Ravensbrück. There, lice and fleas become an unlikely mercy. “In everything give thanks” stretches tight until the sisters notice the guards avoid their barracks, and the Bible may be opened. The infestation that torments their sleep shields their ministry. Gratitude in the dark does not deny evil. It discerns God at work within and through it.

Romans 8:28 anchors the claim. Not all things are good, yet all things work together for good for those who love God and are called to Christ. The question shifts from where the circumstance came from to who is doing the cooking. God gathers even bitter ingredients and brings out a good that is fundamentally Christ formed in his people. God’s glory and believers’ good are not at odds. God’s glory is always believers’ good.

Providence explains the long road. God sees, God steers, God sustains. Joseph’s story moves from “I was stolen” to “God sent me before you to preserve life.” The commentary over his years reads, “the Lord was with Joseph,” even when his feelings could not find it. Trust then must stand where sight fails. Faith often demands. Trust yields and rests.

Presence is the game changer. Moses meets God on the backside of the desert, which turns out to be the mount of God, and will not move without him. Jacob wakes and says, “Surely the Lord is in this place,” a word not only for geography but for seasons that feel barren. Jesus says, “Let us go over to the other side,” never, “to the middle and drown.” Paul and Silas sing at midnight without a trick up their sleeve, and doors open. Elisha prays, “Open his eyes,” and fear gives way to vision as the hills blaze with horses and chariots of fire. Praise rises before explanations. Eyes lift before outcomes. The Cook is at work, and in time the masterpiece will show.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s breath revives dry bones today. Ezekiel’s valley is not a museum piece. God is breathing where many wrote off hope, and bones are finding bone. Revival first looks like prayer, hunger, and unlikely partnerships, then slowly turns a culture. The Spirit’s wind does not ask for ideal conditions before it blows. [03:25]
2. Give thanks, even for “lice.” Gratitude in hardship does not baptize evil as good, yet it recognizes God’s wise overruling. The very irritants that keep comfort away may keep greater threats at bay and open doors for the word. Thanksgiving cleans the lens so providence can be seen doing quiet work. [09:08]
3. The Cook makes bad ingredients good. The question is not who sent this event but who is at the stove. In God’s kitchen, even sour and bitter are folded toward a final flavor that serves Christlikeness. Those who love God and are called can already bless the meal while it is still simmering. [12:03]
4. God’s glory is believers’ ultimate good. The good in all things is not mainly ease but being conformed to the Son. When God seeks his glory, he is not shorting his people, he is giving them their truest gain. Desire aligns, anxiety quiets, and endurance grows when that aim becomes the heart’s aim. [14:01]
5. Trust providence when sight fails. Joseph’s years say more than Joseph’s moods, and the divine commentary stands when explanations do not. Trust rests in the One who sees, steers, and sustains, even on the backside of the desert. Praise belongs in the middle, because presence is already there. [27:28]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:29] - Report from the Netherlands
[02:41] - Dry bones and fresh breath
[03:25] - Praying toward awakening
[04:05] - The Hiding Place open door
[07:58] - Lice, fleas, and hidden mercy
[10:38] - All things work together
[12:03] - Who’s doing the cooking
[13:15] - The good is Christlikeness
[14:01] - God’s glory and our good
[16:35] - Joseph from victim to sent
[21:35] - Trust over figuring it out
[24:28] - Backside of the desert with God
[27:28] - Providence sees, steers, sustains
[29:34] - Midnight praise and open doors
[31:34] - Open his eyes to see
[34:05] - Prayer of encouragement and trust

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Ezekiel 37:1-14 (ESV)
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
Genesis 50:20 (ESV)

Observation Questions

In Ezekiel 37, what does God command Ezekiel to prophesy over the dry bones, and what happens as a result?
What did Betsie encourage Corrie to give thanks for in Ravensbrück, and what unexpected purpose did it serve? [09:08]
How does Joseph reinterpret his suffering in Genesis 50:20 compared to his earlier perspective in Genesis 40:15?

Interpretation Questions

Romans 8:28 says God works all things for good—not that all things are good. How does Joseph’s story (Genesis 50:20) illustrate this distinction?
The Ten Boom sisters thanked God for lice despite the suffering. How does gratitude in hardship help us discern God’s providence without minimizing evil? [09:08]
Ezekiel’s vision includes bones coming together before receiving breath. What might this sequence teach about God’s process in revival or personal transformation?

Application Questions

What “lice and fleas” (irritating or painful circumstances) are you facing right now? How might gratitude shift your perspective on God’s hidden work in them? [09:08]
Joseph’s story took years to make sense. Where are you struggling to trust God’s timing or purpose in a prolonged difficulty? What practical step could help you rest in His faithfulness?
The Ten Boom family prayed for decades before seeing God’s plan unfold. Is there a long-term prayer or burden you’ve neglected? How can you recommit to seeking God in it?
When have you been tempted to doubt God’s presence in a “backside of the desert” season? What truth or practice could anchor you in His nearness today? [24:28]
How might partnering with others (like ministries in the Netherlands) amplify your prayers or efforts for revival in your community? [03:25]
Paul and Silas praised God before their prison doors opened. What situation in your life needs “midnight praise” instead of waiting for explanations?

Sermon Clips

36s

“``Begin to praise him. Hallelujah. Begin to just thank God that he's the one doing the cooking even though every one of the ingredients seem horrible. It's gonna turn out to be a masterpiece. It's gonna turn out to be something that and it may take years. It doesn't matter. But you by faith because you know who's doing the cooking. If I could use that term, you could already thank him in advance for the great fruit that's gonna come forth. Hallelujah. In Jesus' name.”

28s

“And and and these are beyond listen. Is there evil in the world? Absolutely. Should we call evil good? Never. Never. Never. Never. But we still must understand only God can have a way of permitting freedom and even the freedom of evil to a degree and yet have still overruling power without taking away that freedom.”

43s

“And when you begin to see God being with you, it will begin to change you. It changes how you think. It changes how you pray. It changes how you will walk through that season. And I tell you, I just like to pray for people. Thank you, Jesus. And that if you name the name of Jesus it doesn't matter what your calling is. It doesn't matter. So many things that we kinda place emphasis upon. But if you're a child of God, you love God, and you know you are called according to God's great purpose, which is to be like Christ, that no matter what you're facing, he's working all things for that good.”

29s

“Now here's where here's where it applies to us. You know what the commentary over your life is and my life? The Lord is with you. Yes. You are his and he is yours. And if you're born again and saved, you are his and he is yours. The Lord is with you. Now we have to have the confidence when we go through these things that carries us through them. We may not be able to figure it out. We may not know what, but we have to know who.”

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