Week 9: Day 2
What has Daniel got to do with a North Korean labour camp? Join Iona as she reflects on Daniel 1:6-7.
Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.
Intro: Hi and welcome to Orbit, a short daily reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life. My name's Iona and we're going to look today at how Daniel dealt with being a minority.
Bible: Daniel, Hananiah, Mischael and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all fromthe tribe of Judah. The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names: Daniel was called Belteshazzar, Hananiah was called Shadrach, Mischael was called Meshach and Azariah was called Abednego.
Thoughts: As I said yesterday, God's people have been through a very tough time up to this point. We can see in the reading that Daniel and his friends were even given new names to immerse their identities in Babylonian culture. Daniel’s new name even meant "Bel protect him"; Bel being a Babylonian God they worshipped. In other words, it sounds like a pretty hard environment to be a Christian…
A few years ago, I had the privilege of meeting an incredible woman named Hae Woo, who escaped from a North Korean labour camp and I got to hear some of her story. In North Korea, it is illegal to own a Bible. It is illegal to be a Christian and it is illegal to worship anything or anyone else apart from the leaders, which are considered like gods. In every room, there has to be pictures of two of the leaders and every citizen must wear a badge with both their faces on too! They are treated like gods!
As I said, being a Christian is a crime in North Korea, and if you're found out, not only will you go to a labour camp but also your parents and grandparents. Open Doors who support the persecuted church, have said that up until this year North Korea has been the hardest place to be a Christian.
Hae Woo was found out, and was sent to one of these labour camps.
How do you be a Christian in North Korea LET ALONE a labour camp?
She desperately wanted to share God’s love and she couldn’t use words and didn’t have a Bible. She would pray and ask God what to do. In prayer, she felt that God reminded her to think about what was in her hands. She remembered that every day she was given a handful of rice for food, and she felt she was supposed to share this rice and so that’s what she did. She ended up setting up a church in the labour camp toilets.
Hae Woo ended up escaping from that North Korean labour camp, and I got to hear some of her story. (For the full story, go to the Open Doors YouTube or website and you'll be able to find it there.)
Both of those stories combined, tell us that even if the hardest places to be a Christian, remind us that all hope is not lost. CS Lewis says: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
When I go through hard times, it’s the most dependent I am on God. I think we can take courage from these stories, that even in the hardest environments we can still shine the light of Jesus.
Hae Woo couldn’t use words to share Jesus’ love, but she was able to show it with her actions and the way she behaved.
Do you know the phrase: Your life may be the only bible that someone reads…?
Challenge: Take a look at the stories on the Open Doors website and be inspired by them.
Prayer: Thank you for the faith of our brothers and sisters around the world, let that be fuel to our own faith. Thank you that even in the hardest environment you are still at work. Amen