Relying on the Faithfulness of God

In the beginning was the Word...

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling (literally, "pitched his tent") among us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) died in a German concentration camp, by direct order of Hitler, two weeks before the fall of Germany and the release of the German prisoners.  He was considered one of the greatest threats of Hitler's rule because he opposed the German Reich in every way possible.  He would not become part of the official Reichkirk (German Church), despite the danger of not doing so, and the urging of some of his closest friends; he founded an illegal and hidden seminary for young priests (non-Catholic), insisting on prayer and meditation as the foundation of seminary life.  In his Sermons, we feel the strength of his own spirituality:

I am a sojourner on earth.  By that I recognize that I canot abide here, that my time is short.  Nor do I have rights here to possessions or a home.  I must receive with gratitude all the good that befalls me, but I must suffer injustice and violence without anyone interceding for me.

I have no firm footing either among people or among things.  As a guest I am subject to the laws of the place where I am staying.  The earth which feeds me has a right to my labor and my strength.

But because I am nothing but a sojourner on earth, with no rights, no support and no security; because God himself has made me so weak and insignificant, he has given me one firm pledge of my goal: his Word.  He will not take this one security from me; he will keep this Word with me, and by it he will allow me to feel my strength.

Where the Word is with me from the beginning, I can find my way in a strange land, my justice in injustice, my support in uncertainty, my strength in work, patience in suffering.

Bonhoeffer's sufferings under Hitler can be compared to the young David, who was relentlessly pursued by King Saul for years.  David was forced into the wilderness, hiding and living in caves from Saul's army who searched for him with the intention of making an end to this young threat to Saul's rule.  All the time he was in hiding, David learned / experienced the faithfulness of God to hide him, feed him, even provide water for him in the wilderness.  Only those like Bonhoeffer and David, who have experienced the faithfulness of God in desperate circumstances can say, as David wrote:  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge...the cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.  The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to God for my help...He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me (Ps. 18).

Blessed are they---like Mary Magdalene, like Bonhoeffer, like David---who know the deliverance of God, whose refuge is the God of hosts, who trust in His faithfulness to deliver those who pass through the Valley of Baca (weeping, lamentation, soreness), and make it a place of springs...they go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion (Ps. 84).