“Today I am free of the burden of passivity, self- reliance and fear. God uses others to remind me that I serve an audience of one – Jesus Christ.” – David Dzina
“The next thing,” said David Dzina. “That’s what was going to make me happy. In high school, college was going to make me happy. Next, it was finding a woman to marry. Later, I thought I’d be happy when I got the right job.
“I thought I knew what was better for me than God did, though I had trusted Christ when I was a kid. As an adult, I found a lot of significance in being my own man. When I married the first time, I could see signs that I wasn’t ready. The Holy Spirit was telling me I was on a destructive path. But I was too spiritually weak and passive to listen. Prideful and isolated, I never let anyone know what was going on in my life or in my marriage.
“I lived for more than three decades never giving God my best. My first marriage ended because I failed as a leader. At 33 years old, I was living in a hotel, finalizing a divorce and knowing that there was no life in the things I’d pursued. My life would have looked different then if I’d been the Christ follower I am today.
“It was during that time that I started reading God’s Word and specifically the book of John. There were moments in the past when I attempted to follow the Lord. But during that time, I realized that I tried to control my own life for far too long. I asked God to help me follow His leading so I could live for Christ and allow Him to be the Lord of my life.
“After that point, I might have seemed the same, but my heart and life began to look a whole lot different. God began to make me a new creation in Christ, much like 2 Corinthians 5:17.
“God did a lot of work in my life and helped me put Him first above all else. So when I married my wife, Robbin, we both knew that Christ was more important to us individually than we were to each other. We married more than 10 years ago and now have three children. It feels great to have a wife who is ‘for me’ regardless of our circumstances.
“Since we married there have been situations that have shaken us. The one that Robbin and I would say was the most pivotal moment in our marriage came about regarding an unconfessed sin I committed against Robbin. Shortly after I divorced and prior to meeting Robbin, I continued some of my selfish patterns and had a sexual relationship that I lied about to Robbin. After we married the Holy Spirit gnawed at my heart, and I felt a real need to confess and ask forgiveness about the lie.
“I started by confessing to three guys in my life, and asked the Lord to prepare Robbin’s heart for what I had to say. The opportunity opened up to share that I’d been hiding something from her. It was hard because Robbin’s trust was broken. But we walked through it with a close circle of friends and our community group, and God began to cleanse me.
“For me, that confession painted a picture of what forgiveness looks like. When Robbin said she forgave me, I had never experienced that kind of forgiveness from anyone else. Our individual relationships with the Lord have since skyrocketed, and we are closer to the Lord and each other.
“Robbin and I have always loved serving together. We have served everywhere from Children’s Ministry to Merge (Watermark’s pre-marriage ministry) to Foundation Groups (a ministry for newlywed couples). Through serving others, God helped me see that leadership is really about being vulnerable and sharing struggles. That’s how others are able to see God’s refining work in me.
“Because of my divorce I never would have thought I’d end up being used by God. But that has not been the case. I’ve had the opportunity to lead in our community ministry and other areas. God has given me a passion to help men connect with Christ and learn to lead themselves, their wives, families and friends in a way that brings God glory. Through serving at Watermark I have the privilege of remind- ing people in community groups that they have the same tools anyone in vocational ministry has – God’s Word, the Holy Spirit and fellowship with other believers.
“In community, I’ve been able to share the hope we have found in Christ with people who find themselves in seemingly hopeless situations. What once seemed dead has come back to life, because of His power. Today I am free of the burden of passivity, self-reliance and fear. God uses others to remind me that I serve an audience of one – Jesus Christ.”