Written by: The Word For The World
Article source: JOY! Magazine
Searching for Fault, Finding Faith, Dina’s Journey from Scepticism to Belief.
Sometimes, God’s Word meets us in the unlikeliest places, reshaping our lives in ways we never imagined. For Dina, a woman rooted deeply in the traditions of her non-Christian faith, this transformation began with curiosity, scepticism, and a book.
In a quiet Serbian village where faith was a private matter, a single mom juggling work and raising her young daughter, Dina had little patience for discussions about religion, let alone the Christian gospel. To her, faith was distant — not something that could fit into the struggles of her everyday life.
Her neighbour Sasha, a translator working on the Roma Arli Bible project, often spoke about his work. Intrigued by his passion, Dina reluctantly agreed to attend a book distribution event hosted by the translation team. Her plan wasn’t to seek truth but to scrutinize. She left the event clutching a copy of the Gospel of Luke and 50 Bible stories, translated into her heart language.
Dina read with a critical eye, determined to find flaws in the translation. She told herself this was an intellectual exercise, nothing more. But as she read, something began to shift. The stories, written in the language of her childhood, pierced her heart in unexpected ways. The parables of Jesus seemed to speak directly to her doubts, fears, and even her unspoken longings.
One evening, after putting her daughter to bed, Dina found herself weeping over the story of the prodigal son. She recognized herself in the wayward child who had strayed and in the father who extended unconditional love. For the first time, she wondered if there was a God who saw her pain, who cared enough to reach into her life.
Dina began to see the Scriptures as more than mere stories. When Sasha asked for her feedback on the translation, she confided,
“It feels as though someone cared enough to bring light into placeswe didn’t even know were dark.”
God’s Word had planted seeds of hope and truth. While she hadn’t yet embraced faith, her perspective had shifted. She now saw the Bible not as a foreign book but as a bridge—a pathway to understanding the divine love she had never before considered.
Dina’s story is a testament to the transformative power of Scripture, even in the hearts of those who least expect it. It’s a reminder that God’s Word never returns void. It reaches into the depths of our lives, bringing light, love, and the promise of healing.
“It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” – Isaiah 55:11, NLT
God has a plan—and He hasn’t forgotten us. His Word needs to reach every heart, in every language.
Together, we can bring the hope of the Gospel to people in their own language, and transforming lives one story at a time.
This article is featured in the April issue of JOY! Magazine, which is now on sale nationwide! Pick up your copy from any leading supermarket, or read a digital version of this issue here: joygifts.co.za
Click here to KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE weekly newsletter.
> Please support Christian media and journalism in South Africa. Help us to spread the Word of God and take a stand for the truth by making a donation to our ministry. We appreciate your support. Click here to take hands with JOY! Magazine.
Date published: 27/03/2025
DISCLAIMER
JOY! News is a Christian news portal that shares pre-published articles by writers around the world. Each article is sourced and linked to the origin, and each article is credited with the author’s name. Although we do publish many articles that have been written in-house by JOY! journalists, we do not exclusively create our own content. Any views or opinions presented on this website are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company.
