A Wonderful Deliverance
Adapted from Religious Stories for Young and Old, Joel Beeke editor
Our Big Idea is God’s Creation Tells Us about Him” But how does God’s creation do that?
When we look at how beautifully He made the flowers or how majestic and mighty He made the mountains, they reflect His beauty and His majesty and might. But that is not all. But in today’s story, we will see another way God uses His creation to tell us about Himself: by His amazing, mighty, perfect control over it.
Our story takes place about 200 years ago just outside of Stralsund, a great city on the cold, northern coast of Germany. Stralsund was called the jewel of the Baltic Sea in those days. It was an important center for ship-building and trading. From Stralsund, it was easy to sail up to Russia for buy animal furs for coat-making; or, to other parts of Europe to sell fish and salt. The Kings of Sweden, Prussia and Pomerania fought each other for the great city. In battle after battle, they would send in their troops into Stralsund, leaving burnt-down houses and many people dead.
In a quiet little cottage on the edge of Stralsund lived an old woman named Bertha Schmidt. Without a doubt Bertha Schmidt had her share of sadnesses. Her husband had died and she herself suffered painfully in her old age. It would be easy to expect Bertha to be a sad old woman, fearful of what might happen next; but when you went to Bertha Schmidt’s house, you found nothing could
be further from the truth. Bertha Schmidt’s little cottage was a picture of quiet happiness. Why?
Because Bertha Schmidt was a woman who knew and loved God. She saw His goodness and care everywhere, in everything He created-- and so she trusted Him.
“Lord, thank you for this little cottage You have given me. Thank you for the beautiful flowers and vines that grow in my garden. I look at how beautifully and perfectly made each one is and they remind me of how beautiful and perfect You are. Thank you, Lord for my son, Karl, who planted this beautiful garden for
me and happily takes care of me every day. Even he is Your creation and his loving concern for me reminds me of how much You care for me! I may be a widow and I may have pain in my body, but everywhere I look I see how You have been so good to me. I praise You and thank You and trust You!”
God added to Bertha and Karl’s happiness later that summer. Karl fell in love with a wonderful girl and she was to marry him and live with him and his mother, Bertha, in her little cottage. And so a few months later, on a blustery winter’s day, Karl and his bride got married in a church in Stralsund; then, joyfully they returned home together to the cottage to spend their first evening in celebration.
The next morning should have been the bright beginning of their lives together, but it was not.
“Enemy soldiers are on the move!" spread the terrible news. "They are headed for Stralsund! They will be here anytime! Prepare your homes and families for the worst!"
In every house there was gloom; in every heart, fear and trembling. The day passed in dreadful suspense, and night closed in over the still watching, praying, fasting city. As night deepened, a terrific storm of snow and wind came which added to everyone’s worries.
But how was it within the widow’s cottage? Karl had for a while busied himself with barricading the doors and windows to offer some protection for himself, his new bride and mother from the soldiers. They sadly knew the truth, though. A few boards with nails in them were no match for the soldiers coming through. They would have no problem busting in or setting the whole cottage on fire.
Karl sank down into gloomy silence, while his young wife sat beside him, pale and trembling. But what about the aged widow? It would be easy to expect Bertha to be a sad old woman fearful of what might happen next, just like everyone else. But when you looked at that old woman right then, you found nothing could be further from the truth. Bertha Schmidt’s heart was a picture of quiet happiness. Why? Because Bertha Schmidt was a woman who knew and loved God. She saw His goodness and care everywhere in everything He created and she trusted Him. She sat with her eyes fastened upon a little hymnal, and seemed lost to all around her. After a while she raised her eyes, and a bright smile beamed upon her face, as she repeated these lines: “Round us a wall our God shall rear, And our proud foes shall quail with fear.”
“What is that you say, mother?” replied Karl, “is your faith as strong as that? Do you really expect God will build a wall round our poor hut, strong and high enough to keep out an army? I wish I could believe it right now. It is terrible to wait for the soldiers as worried and fearful as I am.”
“Has not my son read that not a sparrow falls to the ground without the will of our Father; that faith has stopped the mouths of lions, and turned aside the edge of the sword?”
Karl made no reply, and the little family sank again into a sad silence.
Just before midnight, there was a lull in the storm, and they heard the great town clock striking the hour of twelve. At the same moment, from the opposite direction, the faint sound of the drums and pipes of the enemy soldiers caught there watchful ears. The fatal hour had come! The little family drew closer together, holding hands. The color drained from the faces of Karl and his little
wife as they waited in fear. But what about the aged widow? It would be easy to expect Bertha to be a sad old woman, fearful of what might happen next, just like everyone else. But when you looked at the old woman right then, you found nothing could be further from the truth. Bertha Schmidt’s heart was a picture of quiet happiness. Why? Because Bertha Schmidt was a woman who knew and
loved God. She saw His goodness and care everywhere in everything He created and she trusted Him. Bertha Schmidt squeezed her son’s hand and again repeated: “Round us a wall our God shall rear, And our proud foes shall quail with fear.”
The music drew nearer, and now they could hear the sound of marching feet and the fire of guns. Soon shrieks were heard along with the crackling of flames and the crash of falling houses. All around them the soldiers were plundering and destroying Stralsund. They waited and waited for the soldiers to start in on their little cottage; but no one ever came, as if angels were encamping around it.
At long last, the music grew faint, the shooting stopped, and the sound of marching feet dwindled away. Everything became completely silent. Bertha, Karl and his wife sat there and kept listening. Finally after a few hours, Karl dared to open one of the boarded up window shutters and look outside. As he opened the shutter, to his amazement all he could see was snow! The storm in the night had dropped so much snow that it heaped up to the very top of the window!Cautiously Karl next opened the door, but here again a wall of snow met his view, and he had to dig his way through it to get to open air. Pulling himself through his tunnel of snow and up onto the ground he stood silent with astonishment and awe at the sight before him. Huge drifts of snow had completely encircled the cottage, and made it in appearance a mere mound of snow, with no sign that a cottage lay beneath it. Not even the steep roof or the chimney stuck out the top to give a clue of the little house that lay beneath the snow, like hidden treasure. It was exactly as his mother had believed: they had, indeed, been hidden by a “wall,” and had dwelled safely in the pavilion of the Most High.
Karl led his aged mother out to behold her “wall of faith.” The widow looked out upon the mounds of snow and rejoiced in her heart.
Bertha Schmidt was a woman who knew and loved God. Each day of her life she had seen God’s goodness and care everywhere in everything He created and she had trusted Him. But never had she seen anything like this! God had even created a snowstorm and used His complete control over it to save her little family and to reveal to them His mighty power and faithfulness to them. Bertha wept as she looked up to heaven and gently exclaimed, "Faithful is He who has promised. He also has done it.”
Our Big Idea is: God’s Creations Tell Us about Him
Our Scripture Verse is: Psalm 19:1-4
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Bertha Schmidt and her little family got to see the heavens declare God’s glory and the skies proclaim the work of His hands in a most amazing way! But did her faith in God begin with that snowstorm? No, it did not. It began much earlier when Bertha heard the wonderful good news of salvation through Jesus. What is that good news? That though she and all people are sinners who deserve God’s eternal punishment for disobeying Him, their good Creator and King, God sent Jesus to bring salvation. He lived a perfect life and offered up His life as the perfect payment for the sins of all who willever turn away from disobeying God, confess their sins and trust in Jesus as their Savior. God promises to forgive all who do and to make them His own special people, who know Him, love Him and obey Him forever and ever.
Since the day Bertha Schmidt trusted in Jesus as her own Savior, God had been at work in her life. He filled her heart with His Holy Spirit, He gave her love and trust in Him. He helped her to see God’s goodness to her every day of her life in everything that He had created--from the flowers in her garden to the care of her son. Bertha could have looked at the hard things that had happened to her and be sad, but instead she looked around to see God’s goodness and let her heart be happy in Him.
Each day you and I have the same choice as Bertha. We can choose to trust in Jesus as our Savior. We can ask Him to forgive our sins and send His Holy Spirit to work in our heart—just like He did in Bertha.
Let’s praise our wonderful God who is Creator over all things and uses even things like snowstorms to take care of them! Let’s ask Him to work in our hearts that we might trust Jesus as our Savior, just like Bertha Schmidt did!
