Betsie saw where I was looking and laid a bird-thin hand over the whip mark. "Don't look at it, Corrie. Look at Jesus only." She drew away her hand: it was sticky with blood.

Dear Jesus, I thank You that we must come with empty hands. I thank You that You have done all—all—on the cross, and that all we need in life or death is to be sure of this.

Oh, my dears, I am sorry for all Dutchmen now who do not know the power of God. For we will be beaten. But He will not.

Whenever we cannot love in the old, human way, Corrie, God can give us the perfect way.

We knew that in spite of daily mounting risks we had no choice but to move forward. This was evil's hour: we could not run away from it. Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God's power alone be free to work.

Three times, he said, he had begged God to take away his weakness, whatever it was. And each time God had said, Rely on Me.

And our wise Father in heaven knows when we're going to need things, too. Don't run out ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need—just in time.

The truth blazed like sunlight in the shadows of Barracks 28. The real sin I had been committing was not that of inching toward the center of a platoon because I was cold. The real sin lay in thinking that any power to help and transform came from me. Of course it was not my wholeness, but Christ's that made the difference.

and uncared for. Nor could I see the necessity for the complete undressing:

Our fears matter. Because ultimately, our fears show how we're relying on our own efforts and not trusting in our Savior. The truth is we—you and I and everyone—are always inadequate. We're never enough. We're always weak.

Grace. Changes. Everything. We don't bring anything. Jesus brings everything.

God's blessings, however, aren't always bigger, better, and beautiful. In fact, I truly believe that God gifts His chosen leaders with a very unusual blessing. You might even call it a weird blessing because most of the time we call it...a burden.