“Remember one thing, dear:
God said he would never leave us nor forsake us.” Those words were spoken on
March 13, 1942, and were the last words Darlene Diebler would ever hear from
her husband, Russell, as they were permanently separated in Japanese prison
camps during World War II.
Darlene married a pioneer
missionary to Southeast Asia named Russell Deibler on August 18, 1937. She was
only nineteen years old. He was twelve years her senior. The Deiblers eagerly
returned to Russell’s pioneer missionary work in the interior of New Guinea.
Darlene accompanied Russell into the jungle to establish a new mission station
near a previously unevangelized, primitive tribe that had only been discovered
just a few years earlier. Darlene, the first white woman any of them had ever
seen, grew to deeply love the local people.
When World War II broke
out in that part of the world, the Dieblers chose to stay. And when the
Japanese soon took control of the area, the Deiblers were put under house
arrest. Later, Japanese soldiers herded all foreigners into prisoner-of-war
camps, separating the men from the women and children. During the next four
years, Darlene endured separation from her husband and, eventually, widowhood.
The brutal conditions of a
WWII Japanese internment camp included near-starvation, forced labor, inhumane
conditions, false accusations of espionage, serious illnesses, solitary
confinement, and torture. Through it all, Darlene was sustained by God, who
never left her nor forsook her, just as he promised. He remained her light and
salvation.[1]
In her book, Evidence
Not Seen, Darlene explains how she went into that POW camp with her Bible,
but guards took it away. However, they could not remove the memorized
Scriptures from her mind. She wrote:
“Much time passed repeating
Scripture. As a young person, I had a driving compulsion to memorize the
written Word of God. In the cell, I was grateful now for those days in Vacation
Bible School, when I had memorized many verses, complete chapters, and Psalms.
The Lord fed me with the Living Bread that had been stored up against the day
when fresh supply was cut off by the loss of my Bible. He brought daily comfort
and encouragement—yes, even joy—to my heart through the knowledge of the Word.”[2]
Darlene’s story is a
challenge for us to commit to memory God’s Word. You never know what life may
bring our way or when we will need a quick memory verse to lean on. Darlene’s
witness is also a reminder that the Word of God is like a Swiss-Army Knife—a
multi-use tool that is fitting for every problem this world throws at us. One
place to start memorizing the Bible is with Jesus’ “Be of good cheer” statements.
They are simple, short and applicable to a wide array of situations we may
face. On five occasions in the Gospels, Jesus spoke to grieving and distraught
souls, reassuring them to take courage. Take a gander at each verse and the life
issue it addresses.
·
Jesus forgives
our DEEDS. When a paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, He said to the
lame, “Son be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven” (Matt. 9:2).
·
Jesus heals our DISEASES.
When a woman with a 12-year sickness crept up behind Jesus and touched the hem
of His robe seeking healing, He turned to her and said, “Be of good cheer,
daughter; your faith has made you well” (Matt. 9:22)
·
Jesus is present
in our DESPAIR. When the disciples were exhausted, frightened, and
tossed about on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus came to them walking across the waves
saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Matt. 14:27).
·
Jesus is greater
than our DIFFICULTY. When the Twelve were distraught on the night Jesus was
arrested, He told them, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of
good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
·
Jesus is comforting
in our DEFEAT. As Paul sat in a lonely, dark jail cell, feeling like a failure,
Acts 23:11 says that the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer,
Paul; for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at
Rome.”
I don’t know what you are
facing today, but I bet one of these passages will help strengthen you. When Jesus
gave these sayings, He wasn’t just making a suggestion, or uttering a cliché, but
He was issuing a promise filled with His powerful authority to minister to the
specific needs of our lives. Let’s lean on these five promises and learn how
Jesus can sustain us through it all.
-DM
[1]
Daniel Aiken, “Darlene Diebler Rose: Unwavering Faith in God’s Promises,” IMB,
10 May 2017 <https://www.imb.org/2017/05/10/darlenedieblerrose/>
[2]
Darlene Deibler Rose, Evidence Not Seen: One Woman’s Faith in a Japanese
P.O.W. Camp (Carlisle, UK: O.M. Publishing 1988), 129-30.
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