February 16, 2022

God Works in Disappointing Times

In every season, God invites us to trust in His ways over our own

by Karissa, an international worker serving in Germany

God, in His goodness, has reminded us time and again that He is faithful and at work in the lives of those we love here in Germany. 

I want to share one of those stories with you and ask that you pray for the individuals and their families who we have been investing in over the past months and years. 

In August 2021, our friends Fred and Kristine* began going through a rough time in their marriage and even started looking into the process of divorce. My husband, Kenny, started meeting with Fred to be a listening ear as well as pray with and for him. Fred and Kristine had been attending our church plant, but Fred was not sure if he believed in God. I tried to talk with Kristine, but she had much more of a wall up. We continued to pray for their family and to be there in any way that we could. Kenny shared Scripture with Fred and gave him a Bible of his own.

In late December, we were given the news that Fred and Kristine had decided to work on their marriage rather than end it. We rejoiced with them and continued to be there for them. They started attending church again as a family and expressed an interest in learning more about God outside of Sunday mornings. But we really weren’t told what had changed so drastically in their relationship to decide to give it another chance.

Until last week. Kristine and I are taking a language class in a town 45 minutes away, which has given us great opportunities to talk uninterrupted. In our car ride last week, she shared with me what changed back in December—and the answer was Jesus. Both of them prayed individually about their marriage, and Fred began to believe that God really was there, and he began pursuing Him. Because of these things, they both felt (for reasons she told me she could not explain) that they needed to make some changes and to work on their marriage. Praise God! 

In this season of disappointment, when things often don’t look the way I want them to or the way we planned them—God is still at work. In people’s lowest of lows and in crisis, we are seeing them interested in faith and in God. Most of the people in our church family here are not yet followers of Jesus. But the Holy Spirit is drawing them to Jesus. Many don’t recognize what that drawing is, but we believe we will see them come to an understanding and to a relationship with Jesus. 

Will you join us in praying for Fred and Kristine, and the other families coming on Sundays? That God will meet them in their difficulties? And that we will see our small church plant on fire for Jesus and through that, more and more people in our town will be drawn to Jesus, too? 

In the midst of disappointment and difficult circumstances, God excites me to wonder and to trust in His ways over my own.

*Names changed.

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Photo courtesy of brooklyn on Unsplash


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