People often ask me, with all the threats that Israel faces, isn’t it frightening to live there? Don’t I worry about my children?
If I look at it through worldly eyes, then yes, it can certainly be frightening. Looking at it that way, you might even think people who make aliyah (immigrate to Israel), as my husband and I did, are crazy.
But seen through spiritual eyes, it becomes clear that we—and our children—are so blessed to be here. We are safe, because we are in God’s hands.
Yes, we’re surrounded by enemies. Yes, there are bigger and more powerful countries focused on wiping us off the map. But God has shown us that that will never happen. In Israel, we don’t just believe in miracles. We live them.
I think of Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who said, “In Israel, in order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.”
I think of the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The people who established Israel were the prophetic words of Ezekiel—the “dry bones”—come to life. Some were Holocaust survivors, their clothes too big for them because the concentration camps had left them no more than skin and bones. But on that day in 1948 when Israel was established and mighty armies attacked us from all sides, threatening to push us into the sea, do you know what happened? God defended us.
I think of 1967, when all of those surrounding armies once again came together to destroy Israel. Even Israel thought: maybe we are doomed. But no, once again, God came through. In six days, we miraculously won against those committed to our destruction. Again, God defended us.
And now I’m also encouraged because I know, from experience, that for the first time in history, the Jewish people have staunch friends and allies in Christians. The Bible says that Israel “will be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Isa. 56:7), and we all—Christians and Jews—are called to be in this together.
It has taken us over 2,000 years, but we are here. Praise God we heard His call, and that He has given us the privilege and honor to partner with Him in bringing these words to fruition.
Today, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews is the largest provider of humanitarian aid in Israel. And since so many of our supporters are Christians, this means that Christians are our key, essential partners in providing aid to Jewish people in need in the Holy Land.
Orphans, widows, Holocaust survivors, all get food every single week because of Christians who love them. Thousands of bomb shelters have been built to protect Israelis because of Christians who love them. Soup kitchens open their doors to the Holy Land’s hungry because of Christians who love them. Jews are coming home to their biblical and historic homeland because of Christians who love them.
Christians are making biblical prophecy come to fruition. Christians are part of God’s plan to unite His children. Christians are partnering with God to bring His words to life.
And I am here in the Promised Land of Israel on behalf of the Holocaust survivors, on behalf of the orphans, on behalf of the widows, on behalf of the immigrants and on behalf of Jews like myself, my husband and my children saying to our Christian friends, “Todah Rabah. Thank you.”
With God’s help, this true fellowship we have built together will continue to bless and sustain Israel and her people long into the future.
Yael Eckstein is president and CEO of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the largest provider of humanitarian aid in Israel. Annually, The Fellowship raises more than $127 million, helping 2 million Jews in need in Israel and around the world. Her podcasts, Nourish Your Biblical Roots and Conversations with Yael can be found on the Charisma Podcast Network.
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