Meet Two ‘Ordinary’ People God Used to Accomplish Great Things

Our spirits are uplifted when we see ordinary men and women who overcome amazing obstacles in their lives through unwavering faith.

Like Corrie ten Boom. Almost 34 years after her death, she is still a spiritual giant for millions of Christians around the world. We’re drawn to her because she was a common person who had moments of doubt, but who also had tremendous faith in God.

While imprisoned in a German concentration camp, her barracks were overrun with lice. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, decided, “We need to thank the Lord for the lice.” That was no small matter of faith. The squalor of their living conditions and the sickness it caused were nearly intolerable. But they believed God’s greater purpose would emerge if they looked at their circumstances through the eyes of faith.

A short time later, Corrie and Betsie discovered that higher purpose. Believers in their disease-infested barracks conducted Bible studies every night – an activity that was strictly forbidden and that the guards would have ordinarily brought to an immediate halt. But because of the lice, the guards refused to enter the barracks.

The Bible studies continued, and souls were saved.

Eric Liddell was another ordinary person with tremendous faith. A portion of his life was portrayed in Chariots of Fire, the Academy Award-winning movie.

He was famous for refusing to compete for England in a race during the 1924 Olympics, despite fierce pressure from an expectant home nation and the Prince of Wales himself, because the race was held on a Sunday.

During World War II, Liddell became a missionary to China where his Christian witness and character glowed in the face of evil. He ministered to orphans and ultimately sacrificed his life, so a woman in the same internment camp he had been forced into could be released and live.

There’s another ordinary person whose faith God wants to work through to influence the world around them.

You.

If you wonder whether or not that’s really true, join us for our broadcast today and tomorrow with our guest, author Eric Metaxas. You’ll discover that some of history’s greatest men and women of faith didn’t set out to do great things. They just did what they thought God was leading them to do.

In addition to Corrie ten Boom and Eric Lidell, Eric Metaxas will share about other great men and women of faith, like Joan of Arc, Rosa Parks, William Wilberforce, and Pope John Paul II. Their lives show that everything we do – washing dishes, changing diapers, or serving in our communities – can be done in faith to the Lord.

Tune in for “Aspiring to Be a Hero: Lessons of Great Women and Men.” It’ll inspire you. And if someone in your life is graduating from high school or college in just a few months, let them know about the program. These stories can inspire emerging adults to believe that no matter how ordinary they may feel, they can pursue greatness for God themselves.

Listen on your local radio station, online, or download our free phone app. You can also pick up a copy of Eric’s books “7 Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness” and “7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness” in our online bookstore.

And another way to learn more about Corrie ten Boom’s life is through Focus on the Family’s critically acclaimed Radio Theatre audio drama production about her life, “The Hiding Place.”