Guest Post by Andrew Schniepp

They used to be so far from my mind. I saw them on TV. I experienced them from afar with my friends and family. However, I never understood the full magnitude of those days. I would always think to myself… it’s only one day.  Germany, for me, was much like a wedding day. It was an incredibly special time with the Author of my life. It was one of those moments in life where I offered everything I had to God. And He didn’t leave me hanging at the altar.

Months before Germany, I spent time prepping, praying, and learning different ways to talk with others about Jesus. People asked about Germany and what I was going to be doing while I was there. I simply responded, love people and talk to them about Jesus. Basically, I was saying, “I do.” to what Jesus commands. But like any bride or groom, I’m not sure if I knew what I was getting myself into.

In Germany, God was and is on the move. We prayed and He spoke. He told us where people were going to be and what their names were before we even met them. He opened closed hearts to His goodness. People who once totally rejected the notion of Jesus as King expressed desire to read what is true in His Word. Someone even decided to make Jesus the Lord of their life in the middle of a train station! In short, when we offer all we have to God, He responds.

Germany was a time for me much like a wedding day. It was a sweet, tangible time where I can look back and see how much God loves me and the rest of His children. However, our relationships don’t stop at wedding days. We are in relationship with a living God who speaks and loves us on days that we are angry, sad, and question whether He even cares. It is in these wedding day moments where we truly offer it all to Him that we hear His voice. It is not because He loves us more in these moments, but because we depend on His voice to guide us in these moments so we actually end up listening.

There is an advertisement campaign in Germany that continually presents the question, “What is your next move?” These advertisements are for cigarettes and they all come with a disclaimer that “Smoking can kill.” After wedding days like Germany, that is a great question. Are we asking ourselves what our next move is? Are we willing to kill ourselves and depend on God for the days after the wedding? He promises to continue to show up.