I love silence. But I have to clarify what I mean by silence. I mean real silence, the kind of silence my wife and I experienced a few years ago when we were wandering in the mountains around Banff. Canada is a very special country and I reckon the Alberta National Park should find a place on everybody’s bucket list. The kind of silence we encountered there, can prove deafening. In fact, it was so quiet that we could hear our hearts thumping (there were, after all ‘bears in them there woods’).

Indeed, the whole experience helped me appreciate what Mother Teresa was trying to say when she suggested that: “We need to find God and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence.” Sadly, far too few of us make the effort to discover the blessings to be discovered when we heed the Psalmist’s advice to be still and know that He is God.

Given his passion for tweeting, President Trump doesn’t seem to see much need for silence either, although I have to admit I am relieved that he and his North Korean sparring partner (Kim Jong Un) have had little to say to each other lately, at least publicly. Unguarded words can have unintended consequences and given the fire power at their disposal a period of silence is very much to be welcomed. The last thing the world needs is another war on the Korean peninsula.

Having said that though, silence is always helpful. Dr. Martin Luther King understood this and it prompted him to say: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” I am sure many of us can identify with that sentiment. The Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie said something similar when he observed: “Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”

I agree with him, wholeheartedly, which is why I was so pleased to receive an email from the Colson Centre the other day highlighting the desperate plight of the Christians living in North Korea.

The facts it would seem, are both shocking and sobering.

“After World War II,” writes American author Eric Metaxas, “the communist regime of Kim Il-sung attempted to stamp out all foreign religions, especially Christianity, which was branded a tool of ‘Western imperialism.’ Missionaries were thrown out, churches closed, and many Christians executed for their faith, with many more pouring into democratic South Korea at the end of the Korean War.

“So how do those who remain survive? As with all of us, by God’s grace. Today, Open Doors USA reports North Korea is the most oppressive place in the world for Christians.

“Due to ever-present surveillance,” the agency says, “many pray with eyes open, and gathering for praise or fellowship is practically impossible. Worship of the ruling Kim family is mandated for all citizens, and those who don’t comply (including Christians) are arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed. Entire Christian families are imprisoned in hard labour camps.”

Mother Teresa may be right when she says God is ‘the friend of silence.’ But if Metaxas is correct in his observations about North Korea, we would do well to remember that He is on the side of oppressed too. And He expects us His to speak up for them. For if we don’t, who will? They certainly can’t.

Rob James is a Baptist Pastor broadcaster and writer who currently operates as a church and media consultant for the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is available for preaching and teaching throughout Wales and can be contacted at [email protected]