LESSONS FROM ISRAEL
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE
Greetings in Jesus’ name. I had the blessed privilege of visiting Israel recently. This is the piece of land that was carefully selected by God in all of the earth for the Israelites as their promised land.
I always wondered why it was called a land flowing with milk and honey. But only when i went there I understood. And this is how I found it was true, Whenever I ordered for water from where I stayed, 500 ml of water cost me 25 shekels, whereas milk was free. Another time I ordered 1 cup of milk, they gave me 4 cups of milk free. Truly it is a land flowing with milk and Honey. (Honey???Well i did not try ordering. So I still don’t know).
Jokes apart ! There are 2 valuable lessons that I learnt from this trip.
First, The verse that kept ringing in my heart was that the Word became flesh and dwelt among men. (John 1:14). Yes the years of prophets prophesying, people waiting ended one day. The word God spoke over them became reality. The promise God gave was fulfilled, He never failed in His word. A day came when every word that He spoke to Abraham He fulfilled, to Moses He fulfilled, to David He fulfilled, to Isaiah He did and the list goes on. It gives me great confidence that the same God will fulfill every promise in my life and yours.
So hold on, the same way He has promised to come again the same way He went up into the sky. Though it seems like, it is taking a long time, surely it will happen and being in Israel reminded me of that.
So this year, trust God more than ever before. Because He who has promised is faithful. Your spouse’s salvation, your marriage, your child, every word spoken over your life will become a reality through God.
Also the second thing I was reminded of was the 2 verses from John 1:11 “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not.” and Isaiah 29:13. “And so the Lord says,“These people say they are mine.They honor me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me.”
The irony was that the people of Israel are so close, yet so far away. In the sense of being so close to the birth place of Jesus, the sea of Galilee, the Synagogue where Jesus preached, the place where He was killed but in the hearts so far from Him. They are missing the whole point. At the wailing wall, I saw many Jews crying out for the Messiah to come and redeem them. They were sincerely crying, wailing. It was so sad to see that they have not realized that their prayers have already been answered 2000 years ago. I mean how blind could they be. May be the answer they expected, didn’t come the way they wanted. But it came a long time ago. It made me wonder how many prayers we’re praying without actually realizing that the answer came a long time ago. They are not accepting that it is finished.
We should ask God to open our eyes to see what He has already done in our lives. Start thanking God for doing things His way so that we don’t have to mourn anymore over the same things year after year and just be thankful.
This year let us remember that, He has finished everything for us on the cross. There is no harm that will befall us when we are covered by the precious blood of God. Let us learn to depend more on His grace and less on our skills and abilities. So that He can carry us and set our feet upon the rock, which is in Him.
So dear friend remember this year that He will do all things just as He promised and do what is the best. Because He has the best perspective of life from above. He can see 10 years down the line. So trust His timing and judgement. Trust His good heart. Trust His outstretched arm for He has the best interest in mind for you and me. He is the Alpha and Omega the begining and the end. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Have a wonferful year of growing in Him and His grace.
Stay Blessed.
Merilyn Jemimah Amirtharaj.
