Why are some places open to the gospel and other places closed? Why does freedom of religion and prosperity seem to erode the power of the church, and persecution seems to purify and empower the church? Why does it seem to take hard times to turn people toward God? Why do we pray for peace and prosperity if they often undermine the mission of God?

These are all hard questions that I can’t fully understand or explain, but I’ve seen enough and read enough to see that the growth and health of God’s Kingdom in a region of the world is often the inverse of how well things seem to be going in those places.

Humans are prideful creatures who prefer to go our way until it starts costing us dearly. The same is true for communities, cultures, and countries. As long as the stories people tell themselves are working, they don’t seek other explanations. When the stories a culture lives by seem stable and make sense of the world, people in those cultures do not open to different narratives. But when reality doesn’t fit nicely inside the worldviews we hold, all of a sudden, we open to other ways of seeing the world.

This is why bad times for cultures are often good times for God’s Kingdom. When lies are exposed, we are more open to truth. When we reach the end of ourselves, we open to God in new ways. Or, as I’ve heard someone say, “people don’t change until staying the same hurts worse than making a change.”

For example, we have witnessed the first real opening of the gospel to the Muslim world in the last decade or two. Much of the Islamic world was rocked by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Arab Spring revolutions around the Mediterranean Sea, the Syrian civil war, the rise of Isis, constant terrorism throughout the region, and massive refugee waves from the Middle East to Europe. This has been a horrible experience for millions of people that breaks the hearts of all noble-hearted people. Yet God has found ways to work good through it. As those working with Muslim-background believers in Jesus often state, more Muslims have come to Christ in the last 15 years than in the previous 1400 years combined.

The same thing is happening in the Buddhist world. Since COVID, there has been more openness to the gospel in Thailand than in anyone’s living memory. David Allen, one of MRN’s staff, spent 25 years in Thailand with his family and teammates making disciples of Jesus and planting churches. Yet, when he was able to return after the COVID lockdown, he heard local leaders reporting unprecedented openness to Jesus in Thailand in the wake of social disruption.

David says there have always been three pillars to Thai culture: love for king, love for country, and love for Buddhism. But all three pillars are shaking right now. A long-tenured and beloved King recently died, and the new King has gone bad. The people don’t respect him. The military has taken over the country and did not manage the pandemic well. The losses were devastating, and people have lost confidence in their country. Finally, there have been many stories of corruption and abusive behavior among Buddhist monks. Their moral failures have called Buddhism into question. All three pillars of Thai culture are crumbling - at least among the young professionals and youth. They are disillusioned and looking for something else to build their lives on. Many are turning to capitalism, wealth, and making materialism their new god. But many are open to Jesus like never before as well.

So, should we pray for peace and prosperity where we are? Maybe not all the time. Jesus taught us to pray, “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” God wills for all people to experience his peace and well-being. But the road from where we are to that good place may be rocky at times. For God’s reign to flourish, some false rulers must be taken down, which can get messy and painful.

All this means that we are often terrible at determining when times are good for the Kingdom. Good times can lead to bad times, and bad times can lead to good times. When things seem unhinged, God may be doing his best work. So don’t despair even when things are hard.

Ninety years ago, on July 23, 1933, Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached a sermon to his German congregation as Hitler and the Nazis were taking over their country with the support of much of the German church leadership. In his sermon based on Matt. 16:13-18, entitled “Peter and the Church Struggle,” Bonhoeffer said the following words which remain as true in our day as in his,

But it is not we who build. He builds the church. No human being builds the church but Christ alone. Whoever intends to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it: for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess–he builds. We must proclaim–he builds. We must pray to him–that he may build. We do not know his plan. We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are times of collapse are for him the great times of construction. It may be that from a human point of view great times for the church are actually times of demolition. It is a great comfort which Christ gives to his church: you confess, preach, bear witness to me, and I alone will build where it pleases me. Do not meddle in what is my province. Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well. Pay no heed to views and opinions, don’t ask for judgments, don’t always be calculating what will happen, don’t always be on the lookout for another refuge! Let the church remain the church! But church confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord, from his grace alone can you live as you are. Christ builds.[i]

[i] A Testament to Freedom: The Essential Writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ed. By GB Kelly and FB Nelson, Harper San Francisco, 1990.