Gabriella grew up on the mission field in South- America and has seen God’s provision and guidance throughout her life. Building on a rich history of miracles and faith she now has her own journey with the Lord. Her life is marked by intimacy and strength and today she shares her story with Revive.
When some no’s lead to a big yes
During covid times Gabriella followed an internship at Bethel School of Supernatural ministry in Redding, California. Students apply for an internship and mostly they find a match with a mentor in about three times. Gabriella applied sixteen times before she got accepted by a Swedish pastor. During the interview a hummingbird flew into her room. She paused the FaceTime saying: Sorry, but there is a bird flying into my room. The Pastor knew God wanted him to accept Gabriella, since the Lord had been speaking to him more often through hummingbirds. Gabriella became very close with the Swedish family and experienced them as the greatest gift of her last year of ministry school.
But, you got rejected sixteen times, how did you deal with that?
‘The reason wasn’t that I wasn’t good enough or the mentors didn’t want to accept me. It was simply because God told them not to accept me. Also, we should never compare ourselves with others, God always has enough. He is such a good Father. The fact that He gives someone a gift doesn’t mean he doesn’t have something for you.’ Later on Gabriella became very good friends with one of her Swedish teammates who turned out to be the husband she had been praying for. God knitted everything together and Gabriella experienced the leadership and intentionality of God.
‘It is like proverbs: ‘A man can make plans, but it is God who fulfills them. If I didn’t receive the no’s then I wouldn’t be in the same team as my husband and I wouldn’t be in Sweden right now.
Gabriella Gren
And then you moved to Sweden, that wasn’t the easiest, was it?
‘Moving around hasn’t been a new thing for me, it feels like God prepared me for this season during my entire life. I do have the advantage that I grew up on the mission field and it has been normal for me to see God’s character displayed. Still I am on my own journey with God. We need to learn how to trust Him. God has such a divine plan for our lives and we need to believe that He is who He says He is. Actually, after the cross we have no right to not trust Him, yet many don’t. It has been hard for me to not believe in God’s goodness when I look at the miracles in my life. During lockdown I entered Sweden twice without a vaccine. Also, my family came for the wedding, all six of them!
Even though God had been so present in my life, it doesn’t say this journey has been easy. I still had to adjust to a new country and a new calling. Pain and rejection are a part of life, but we can trust the Lord with our hearts. It is about our connection with the Holy Spirit. We can trust that God makes better things from our lives than we do by ourselves.
Pain and rejection reveal the proximity of God to our hearts. His position towards us doesn’t change, but our position towards Him does.
Gabriella Gren
It’s like me and William, we share a bed that is big enough to both have our part. I know that he is there, but if I want to be closer to him I need to roll over. In the same way, we need to lean into God to experience Him and to be close to Him.
I am still figuring out how to be closer to the heart of God, it is a process. However, it is important to not let disappointment come close to our hearts. Sometimes you don’t have the strength to make your relationship with God happen. We need to remember that God knows that we are dust, we have been raised with him, but we are still human. Sometimes we need to let Him sustain our relationship with him. I am not saying we don’t need to pray, fast, and be intentional with the Lord. Most important is the posture of our hearts.
What are you doing right now in Sweden?
‘Right now my husband is the associate pastor at the church we are part of. We have a heart to see the church awakened and we partner with several projects. We believe dry bones in Sweden need to come alive! Europe needs to be awakened! We are not just meant to work, go on vacation and have a big house. Sometimes less is more: we need to leave certain things to live in the fullness of God. The gospel is still the same, but we need to live according to its standards. Gabriella is learning Swedish and keeps following God without compromise.
