God at work in unexpected moments (Belarus)
There are many startling things that God is doing in our lives every day. He provides for us in often small, seemingly insignificant ways, leading us and guiding us per His perfect will. He often quietly answers our prayers.
Yet we seldom recognise it nor pause in thankfulness for it. We tend to just soldier on in the reality we call our life. We look for the big signs and bold answers to prayers. Yet it is the day in, day out work of God amongst all His people that is the most incredible.
It is God’s faithfulness in spite of us, in the face of our doubts and our selfishness, leading those He loves both to Him and as witnesses to others. It might be a timely word from an unexpected person, a gracious unexpected act, or an open door to tell of Jesus.
God is at work, leading and guiding us every day.
Let us be grateful each day for this truth—for the work of God among those who believe.
Valery is an SGA-supported missionary pastor in southern Belarus who has seen God at work in small, unexpected moments. Some of those moments arise following the delivery of a bag of groceries. “Through visits and food packs, through working with disabled children and young people with disabilities, through targeted assistance with people’s needs—in potatoes, firewood, food, and other resources, God opens up many new opportunities to build good relationships with people and to evangelize them about the salvation available through Jesus Christ. I’m sending pictures of dozens of people in whom God has opened the doors of their hearts, and has given us opportunities to witness for Christ in deed and word. Praise God for the mission of SGA and for all its staff, through whom God helps us reach new souls with the Gospel. By example, a sister with a severe disability and a small pension had a son who came home dejected because his boss had not paid him for the work he had done, and worried that he and his mother would not be able to afford to cook something good for the holiday. When he saw the groceries we had brought his mother, he asked in great surprise, ‘What miracle is this?’ Mom replied that God took care of them through the church. Artem was touched to the core that strangers had taken better care of them than his boss.” For some, a single bag of groceries means life, and that is a profound miracle. To many, this might seem a small thing and pass it by without a thought, but to others it is evidence of the work of God. When you see it, you cannot be without praise to God and experience His joy.
Valery has also seen God at work in his small group ministry, where people distant from God suddenly see God at work for the first time. “Bible study groups at home play a big role in spreading the kingdom of God in people’s hearts and transforming them into Christ. There are two home groups and one youth group on Saturdays. A variety of new people come to these groups and get to know believers and the Gospel. I want to tell you more about one of these men, Vadim, nicknamed ‘Bandit.’ He started attending services and asking curious and even tricky questions. Then he came to a home group in the village where he said, ‘I am Orthodox, but I am not a Christian! I believe in the god Perun!’ We invited him to reject the worship of a dead idol and become a disciple of Jesus Christ. An Orthodox priest, hearing that Vadim had begun attending a house of prayer, urged him to come to him and repent for going to the Baptists. To this Vadim replied, ‘I will not go to you to repent, because I drink vodka with you!’ God certainly led Vadim to this small group. It is a miracle that he came and even began to see a need to lay down his idols and trust in God alone. All these steps, all these events are weaved together by our Sovereign God. Let us pause each day to give God praise and thanksgiving for all we face, either in trial or ease, recognizing that God is leading us in it all for His glory and our eternal good.
