How God Used One Student’s Trip to Israel to Change His Life—And Break His Heart

Almost every Christ-follower who travels to Israel reports having an incredible experience, and this seems especially true for the college students who visit Israel with the Passages program. But in the case of Jack Meckfessel, the time there also broke his heart.

Meckfessel tells hosts Montana DeWitt and Jeremy Rivers on the Passages podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network, “It was a really incredible trip … something I’ve been reflecting on a lot recently and was a massive highlight from my trip was the time that we got to spend at the Golan Heights, the Gaza border and in the West Bank…. I remember while I was there, it was so heavy standing in those places—for those who are familiar with the significance of those areas—and just really feeling the weight of the brokenness of humanity,” he says of the sites that have been home to so much conflict through the years.

“I think when we talk about Genesis 3, we talk a lot about how our relationship with God was fundamentally fractured. But also in Genesis 3, we see the relationship between people is broken, and just sitting in those places and just feeling the weight of that. And especially that’s relevant right now,” he says in view of recent anti-Semitic attacks.

“But I remember sitting there and just being met by the Lord in such a sweet way and remembering that Jesus in the midst of that is the Prince of Peace, but He is also the righteous judge who will usher in justice. And so just sitting in that, that my peace comes from Jesus.”

To hear more of Meckfessel’s story and the impact of his trip to Israel with Passages, click here for the entire podcast. {eoa}