Last weekend, God provided a way for me to take a large step forward in my health, and on the other side of it, I can surely say that it was (and is) worth it. But because the appointment entailed a sort of “procedure” that I’d never done before and, as such, didn’t quite understand how it was ultimately going to work, I felt nervous going into this. (Turns out any and all fears were truly unfounded. Praise God!)
But the devil still tried to stoke those fears. In short, I know he has been trying to take me out. But that’s a story for a different day. And besides, God is my protector. Ultimately, Jesus gets the final word. I watch YouTube a lot. I even have an account. Usually I’m logged in, and it’s automatic at this point. But sometimes YouTube logs me out, and I often don’t notice for a while. (I only find out if I decide to “like” a video, and only then does it tell me that I need to log in. A simple tap of a button later, and that takes care of that.) What’s kind of scary and potentially dangerous about the issue of whether I am logged in or not is that the type of videos that pop up on my YouTube feed are wildly different from each other: when I’m logged in, I get Christian videos including prayer and devotional videos, sports videos, cat rescue videos, and classical music videos; when I’m not, who knows. There are some sports videos but more often than not it’s some type of human interaction video, often showcasing how one person in particular is reacting to something else that’s going on. And it was while I was unknowingly logged out that I came across the horror series based on Otto Warmbier’s detention in North Korea.
At first, I was curious, naturally speaking. I had heard the name before, and I had understood that he had been arrested in North Korea. But that was it. I’d completely forgotten when this had occurred, and I hadn’t even realized that he had died. I’d heard of other foreigners who had been arrested, and although I had understood that the process of getting them released was generally long and arduous, generally such persons had gotten released.
More recently, in Russia, we had a couple of known American prisoners for crimes that would be considered bogus on our land, but very much against the law there. Additionally, their justice system was nothing like ours. According to US standards, the punishment for said crimes which in and of themselves were already bogus, were even more bogus (i.e. harsh). In large part due to the incompetence of our president at the time, but also in part because Russia knew they could extort us, we gave up a dangerous arms dealer in exchange for an LGBTQIA+ professional women’s basketball player. In other words, a glorified celebrity! What about Paul Whelan, a marine who fought for his country? (We did eventually get him freed as well.)
Even in North Korea, although the conditions were harsh, and the process of getting our prisoners freed long, arduous, and difficult, in almost every case, we were able to get them back unharmed.
Yes, in every case, except Otto Warmbier.
The devil dropped this video in front of me the evening before my medical appointment. At first I was curious, but after watching only a minute of the horror narrative I was upset and scared for the guy. Seconds later, I looked him up online, and only then did I understand that not only did this take place a decade ago, but that the experience had killed him. Ok, this wasn’t current, but the fact that he died was upsetting. Moments ago, before I stopped the video, I had heard him crying and pleading for his life. I couldn’t sleep very much that night. But I responded by praying and praising silently. I eventually was able to get some sleep, and when I needed to wake for the day, by God’s grace I did feel rested.
I am choosing to embark on this series because, as I was trying to gather data about what happened (North Korea tends to be secretive about imprisonment details), I realized that I had my work cut out for me. There isn’t a dearth of information about Warmbier or the aspects of what happened that is publicly available. But there is a multitude of opinions that run the gamut of “he messed around and found out” to “North Korea should be wiped off the map for this travesty,” as well as all sorts of thoughts in between. Ultimately there’s a lot of speculation, and the more I search for the truth, the less helpful most of said speculation is. The thing is, there is a lot we don’t know about what happened to Warmbier that even the best of human deductive reasoning cannot possibly determine. My goal is therefore to embark on not only try to deduce what happened, but to invite the Word of God and the Spirit of God into this. Because, after all, He does reveal mysteries:
“But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:”Daniel 2:28 NKJV
As for any questions or doubts that I had regarding whether to proceed (is this something that God would be pleased with me doing?), I felt the below recent devotional has helped to answer it:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?”Micah 6:8 NKJV
What Does God Want?
“What is God’s will for my life?”
“What is my purpose and calling?”
“What can I do to please God?”
In the New Testament, Jesus provides the answer to those questions by telling His followers to love God and love people. In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah—empowered by the Holy Spirit—summarized God’s will for Israel by saying:
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”Micah 6:8 ESV
These words were penned during a time when God’s people were trying to please Him with sacrifices, offerings, and going through religious motions—while living lives of deception, violence, and pride. But as the prophet Hosea writes, “I [God] desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6 NIV)
God is after our heart motives, not our outward religious activity or begrudging obedience.
Let’s break down what God desires of us:
- DO JUSTICE. Doing justice requires faith and actions working together: helping the hurting, defending the weak, dealing fairly with the people we encounter, and speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. In other words, to do justice, we must love others as we love ourselves.
- LOVE KINDNESS. The mercy of God is an extreme kindness. And because we’ve been shown undeserved kindness by Him, we can show undeserved kindness to others. God desires these things more than endless “I’m sorry” speeches. God is kind to the grateful and the wicked (Luke 6:35), so we should be too.
- WALK HUMBLY. Be teachable. Be moldable. Remember: You’re not God. You have limitations. You need a Creator and Savior. You’re only here because God spoke you into existence. So confidently embrace who you are, and who you are not, because it’s when we live fully surrendered to God that He does incredible things through us.
Seeking justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly—that is what God wants from us. So in a world that’s saturated with injustice, hatred, and arrogance, let’s be people marked by these three things.
Be encouraged: We don’t have to wonder what God wants. He’s already shown us and told us: to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.
Share your faith: How can you make the world around you more just? How can you show mercy? How can you humble yourself and magnify God?
Prayer: God, please show me how to love You and love Your people. Align my heart with Your will, and help me to make decisions that bring You glory and honor. Help me to see myself accurately so that I can love others fully. Show me how to show justice and mercy to those who need it—because those are actions that delight you and show that I am Your child. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Any regular readers who read this space, you probably would expect me to also include similar verses to today’s focus verse. And so I will:
““And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?”Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NKJV
“Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.””Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV
My reasoning is simple:
“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV
In other words, although one verse from Scripture is strong enough to stand on its own (see Jesus resisting the devil when He was tempted. He used three different verses but that was for three different temptations. In other words, one verse to combat one temptation is enough.), I just like to carpetbomb my opposition with verses that work well together. Whatever it takes to reduce my enemies’ lies to silence.
Many of the (useless) comments I saw on Reddit in my search to find information that may not be found on Wikipedia or any public news sources are precisely that: noise and opinions based on a person’s own worldview, irrespective of any real research. I’ve found that I don’t have much patience for that kind of thing. It’s also taken me many, many, many, many years to learn that public fora are not places to express opinions. Heck, even phone calls or visits with friends that I haven’t talked to in years aren’t places to be too free-speaking, even though I’m blessed to live in a country that still fights for it. It’s one of the lesser reasons I still blog; I need a place where I can organize and express thoughts (and yes, opinions) and have the time and space to work on and develop them without interruptions let alone others’ opinions fouling up my process. (I think I’m the same way with composing music!) There are times when the need is less great (for example if I’m sharing a short devotional or a screenshot of something profound with only a few words). And then there are times like this. I’m researching about a man I never met, who died a terrible death, and someone who I think hasn’t really had compassion extended to him much, even in death. (Yes, even those who fall in the “North Korea should be wiped off the map” camp haven’t jumped up to defend him!)
And although Warmbier has been dead for nine years (and brain-dead for over ten), examining what happened to him, and why, and attempting to thoughtfully examine as best I can the division of responsibility in this case gone wrong, I think is a way of doing justice for him, in a small way. And this opportunity never would have come up if I hadn’t been unknowingly logged out of YouTube while on the site, and the video hadn’t popped up on my screen. I truly believe that God is going to do something good with this, because He’s the type to take what the devil meant for evil and turn it around for good.
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”Genesis 50:20 NKJV
More to come in subsequent posts.