Shephelah [foot hills]

Our first “official” day in Israel! The first day of physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges. The first day we got chills as we hiked through the history of the Old Testament. Gezer. Soreq Valley. Cave of Adullam. Sha’arim. Lachish. Places where the stories of Solomon, Samson, David and Goliath, and Hezekiah came to life. It’s so hard to put these experiences into words…but God immediately got to work tugging on my heart, starting at Tel Gezer, where we walked through Solomon’s gate and up to a group of Standing Stones.

Standing stones are mentioned in the bible as structures built by men to mark the movement of God. One example occurs in Joshua 4, where Joshua instructs that twelve stones be built up as a reminder to the Israelites that God had dried up the Jordan River so they could cross with the Ark of the Covenant on dry land. In the New Testament, Peter builds on this concept when he challenges the church to be “living stones” to the world, boldly living out our faith to proclaim the works of God.

“You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 2:5

I know that I have fallen short of this calling, especially in this first year of marriage. If I am honest, I have often questioned what being a holy priesthood or a spiritual house looks like. Cue God’s next lesson for my heart: obedient faithfulness.

The story of David and Goliath has always been one of my favorite bible narratives – an account of a character exemplifying obedient faithfulness and courage in the face of adversity. But to actually be at Sha-arim, where he once stood as a young shepherd boy, boldly taking down an enemy of God with a slingshot…it was impossible to stand there without reflecting on all that unfolded in history because of David’s obedience and God’s faithfulness. The more I reflected, the more I was humbled at my own lack of bold faith.

But having bold faith is not easy. Even David, a man after God’s own heart, spent a large portion of his years running and hiding to avoid being killed. When David was hiding in the Cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22), he desperately cried out for refuge and community, a prayer that is known to us as Psalm 142. Little did he know that as he was praying, God was already sending 400 people to surround and support him. Praise God! This chapter in David’s life is such a sweet reminder to me that the He is already looking out for us. When we are in our pits of despair, God is our refuge, and He will send others that will enter into it with us if we trust in Him.

June 30th marked the beginning of our adventures in Israel. But it also marked the beginning of [hopefully] new obedient faithfulness in my life. I want to be a living stone for my husband – one that weathers well in the storms and trials. I want our marriage to be a living stone of God’s faithfulness as we open our gates wide and love our neighbors as ourselves. I know that I will continue to fall short in this, but that is why I am so grateful that God knows what we need even before we ask, and we have a community that walks beside us.

• 

• 

• 

• 

•