Devotionals

Faith | Monday November 20, 2006

Partnering with God

Partnering with God

The situation along the Chinese and North Korean border continues to be tense. As it increasingly poses a greater nuclear threat, North Korea has intensified its efforts to locate and apprehend any of its citizens that have fled to China for refuge and undercover agents seek to identify and neutralize organizations that aim at assisting the refugees.

A near crash

The Boeing 747 sat at the terminal in Beijing. I had two seats by the window all to myself and felt relaxed about the “home stretch” flight. I picked up the first English newspaper in a while and began to read. I had been reading only a couple of minutes, when I suddenly had a strong sense that I should pray instead of read. I put the paper down and began praying, thanking God for His guidance and protection throughout the trip, as well as for my wife and kids and His ongoing protection on our family. As we taxied to the runway for take-off I felt quite peaceful. The plane turned and the engines roared as we picked up speed. I was looking out the window and the nose of our plane was just coming up, when suddenly there were three explosive sounds and our left engine spewed sparks and fire.

God is always at work

The Jews persecuted Jesus for healing a man on the Sabbath. In response to their accusations Jesus said, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17). God is indeed always at work and it is a privilege when He gives us the opportunity to be involved in His ministry. During my recent trip I was able to spend time with some of the refugees we’ve helped over the past few years. Many of these boys and girls had looked very gaunt when they first reached one of our safe houses. In the meantime they not only put on some healthy weight but their faces also expressed life and transformation, a testimony to how God continues work in and through their lives.

A close escape

Talking with some of the refugees at the safe houses was a real treat, as each one of them had many stories of how they had seen God at work in recent days.

Take Jisun for example. She fled across the Chinese border when she was 14 years old. Jisun looked a lot younger, because her development had been delayed by malnutrition. To begin with she lived on the streets for a while, until one day she met one of our workers who invited Jisun to one of her safe houses. There she received physical and spiritual food and bloomed. She also received the opportunity to learn Chinese and enjoyed learning a little bit of English as well. After nearly two years she heard through the grapevine that her mother had also made it across the border. Jisun was very excited and went to meet her mother at a set time. However, when she got there the Chinese police were just raiding the place and Jisun and her mother were arrested and deported along with many other North Koreans. Instead of a joyful reunion they encountered a forced trip back. Amidst thoughts of despair Jisun asked God for wisdom on what to do. Suddenly she had an idea. She claimed that she was not really North Korean and had been deported by mistake. At first the guards were unsure what to do. Then they picked up a copy of a Chinese book and gave Jisun the challenge, “If you are really Chinese, then take this book and read out loud.” Jisun picked up the book and was able to read, all the time she had spent on learning the language suddenly paid off. The guards were persuaded and let Jisun slip back across the border. As she left, Jisun promised that she would pray for her mother and would long to be united once again. At the border

During my trip we also visited one of the many North Korean border crossings where we experienced some tense moments. We drove to one of the crossings that provide an excellent view of some of the towns in North Korea. Along the road we passed a security patrol without even slowing down. The trip went very smooth. We stopped near the Chinese border guards and got out for a closer look across. As I stepped out of the vehicle, one of the Chinese guards looked over and immediately ran inside the guard building. Moments later more guards emerged and we were stopped from walking further. The officer in charge and our driver began a lengthy argument, our driver getting quite agitated. The officer then asked me to hand over my passport and gave it to one of his men. The situation was tense and I didn’t like the fact that I had lost control of my passport. Silently we prayed for peace and for God’s favour. Suddenly the officer seemed to relax and change his stance. He explained that we were in a forbidden zone and needed special permission from the central government to be there. But he went ahead and said that he would just let us go if we left the area immediately. He took my passport, held it in his hand for a while and then handed it back to me. We returned to our vehicle and went on our way. All of us were very happy to get out of there. On our way back to Beijing we were grateful that God had given us once again the opportunity to see Him at work in our lives.

On the way home

The pilot aborted take-off and we jolted forward in our seats. The tires screeched and the remaining engines screamed, as the pilot desperately tried to bring the plane to a stop before the end of the runway. We stopped within feet of the end of the runway and taxied to a nearby parking stop. Everyone remained surprisingly calm, yet fear and worry could clearly be seen on the faces of the flight attendants that briskly walked around trying to reassure all the passengers. As we left the plane I could see that all its tires were flat. We made our way back to the terminal and found out that we would have to spend the night at a nearby hotel in hope that our plane would be fixed by the next day. However, the next day we found out that our plane would not be fixed for a few days. As a result we were put on a flight with China Air to Osaka and then homeward. Throughout this whole experience I was very thankful that God had involved me in the process, urging me to pray. I was also very aware and thankful that people back home had been praying for my safety. Later on when I told them what had happened, several attested to having had a real sense of urgency to pray for me during that very same time. Even though they had been thousands of miles away, God had invited them to be part of what He was doing. God is clearly at work in North Korea and also in the lives of the many refugees in China. He does not grow weary in doing good and touching and transforming the lives of people that are opening their lives to Him. What a privilege when He opens our eyes to His working and gives us opportunities to join in what He is doing. Through your prayers and support you too can become partners in what God is doing in that part of the world.