In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have
had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your
faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may
be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is
revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)
Believers in North Korea’s underground church recite five principles, along
with the Lord’s Prayer, at their secret gatherings. The special place of
purifying suffering in the spiritual life of this church is striking:
1. Our persecution and suffering are our joy and honor.
2. We want to accept ridicule, scorn and disadvantages with joy in Jesus’
name.
3. As Christians, we want to wipe others’ tears away and comfort the
suffering.
4. We want to be ready to risk our life because of our love for our neighbor,
so that they also become Christians.
5. We want to live our lives according to the standards set in God’s
Word.
Christian singer, Helen Berhane was arrested for sharing her faith in her
home country of Eritrea. She spent almost three years in prison, much of this
time in a metal shipping container. Because she would not deny her faith or stop
sharing her faith, she was beaten so severely she could not walk. During her
time in the containers she wrote new Christian songs and spent her time
encouraging other Christian prisoners, as well as witnessing to the prison
guards.
After her release, she resettled in Europe and has written her prison memoirs
in a small book titled, Song of the Nightingale. In the introduction when
describing her feelings inside the shipping container prison, she writes:
Sometimes I cannot believe that this is my life—these four metal walls, all
of us corralled like cattle, the pain, the hunger, the fear. All because of my
belief in a God who is risen, who charges me to share my faith with those who do
not yet know him. A God who I am forbidden to worship. I think back to a
question I have been asked many times over my months in prison: “Is your faith
worth this, Helen?” As the guards continue on their rounds, I whisper the
answer: “Yes.”[1]
RESPONSE: Today I will accept suffering as something that can prove and
purify my faith.
PRAYER: Lord, thank You for those trials and challenges that help me be
more like You. You are worth it all and more!
1. Helen Berhane, Song of the Nightingale (Colorado Springs: Authentic
Media, 2009), p. xiii.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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