Is there hope for broken people?

Between Christmas and New Year’s, I spent five days with over 100 college students from a student movement here in the Czech Republic. We dug deep into Psalm 23, learning about our Good Shepherd and how to follow him more closely.

Most of the students were first-generation believers, often without a single relative who knows Jesus. Between the teaching sessions, I heard their stories, and my heart was heavy for the broken world they grew up in.

Honza had very few memories of his dad, except for the unending hateful comments his mom would say about him after they divorced. Later, he realized that almost all of her relationships were broken and characterized by hate and unforgiveness. As he grew older, the hate took root in his heart, primarily directed at himself. He moved through life constantly expecting rejection.

Then someone invited him to the student meetings, and he heard about a Father who loved him unconditionally and a Son who bore his sins and pain on the cross. In faith, he believed the words of Isaiah 53, that “with his stripes we are healed,” and placed his rejection and wounds on Jesus. The Good Shepherd found him, and now he is pioneering the student ministry in a new city, sharing the good news of redemption with many who have never heard.

Lucy’s dad was a person with alcoholism who turned violent whenever he had too much to drink. As a small child, Lucy would cower in the corner as her dad physically abused her mom, at times fearing that her mom would not survive the beatings. He took his anger out on the kids as well, and she would go to school with bruises on her face and body. When the teachers asked what had happened, Lucy made up a story. If she told the truth, another beating would quickly follow.

Lucy dreamed about running away forever, or taking her life, because her entire world was so full of danger that she had no hope. Thankfully, in university, a classmate told her about Jesus Christ and his supernatural power to change lives. The good shepherd found her and placed her in a new family. Her eyes filled with tears as she told me about the redemption she had found in Christ and the safety she found in his unending care.

Katka told me she had never read the Bible and had just come to the retreat out of curiosity. She had many questions and, on the final day, asked me to sign the book she had just bought about knowing God as Father. “It’s my birthday today,” she said. I’m praying that she will be born again soon.

Since the Czech Republic is the most atheistic country on earth, many young people grow up in broken families and become broken people, without hope and a way of escape. But we know the Good Shepherd.

Thanks for joining us as we search for his lost sheep.

Dave Patty
President, Josiah Venture