Encouragement at the Right Moment

You may be familiar with this little piece of prose:

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

The author of that oft-quoted (and misquoted) piece is Martin Neimoeller. Neimoeller was a former submarine captain who had originally supported Adolf Hitler’s rise to power based on his promise to turn around the national economy. Neimoeller became a pastor and transformed into a vocal opponent of the Fuehrer. Hitler was well aware of Neimoeller’s criticism and displayed a public hatred for the clergyman. Neimoeller was arrested by SS troops on February 7, 1937 and taken to jail. He spent the next seven years of his life in a concentration camp. What did he say gave him the strength to stay faithful until he was freed by Allied forces in 1945?

German Pastor Martin Niemoeller

The morning after Martin was arrested, he was led from the prison to the courtroom through an underground tunnel. As he walked between the guards, he heard an audible voice say, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” He knew the verse was Proverbs 18:10. None of the guards opened their mouth, but to Martin it was a clear audible voice. Was God speaking to him? He didn’t know, but that verse was an encouragement to him as he faced trumped up charges he didn’t deserve. In fact, Martin was acquitted of all charges, but Hitler declared to the court that the pastor was a personal prisoner of the Fueher and kept Martin in jail the next seven years. Martin stood up under this trial because he knew God was his strong tower.

The rest of the story emerged after Martin was released from his captivity. He met a fellow believer who had been a guard posted in the jail tunnels. That guard learned the acoustics in the tunnel allowed for someone to whisper along the wall at one point and be heard by a prisoner passing at the other end. It was this guard who had whispered a word of encouragement to Pastor Martin at the beginning of his captivity. God had spoken to Pastor Neimoeller that day. It was through the voice of a guard who used his opportunity to encourage others in need.

To whom could you whisper a word of encouragement today as God’s representative?

~ The Unexamined Life and All
Jeff

Posted: February 9, 2010 
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