Dear Church of the Open Bible,
Some of you know that I have a close friend, a brother in Christ, who is Israeli and currently lives in Israel with his wife and three boys. Among other things, he teaches and serves in a local church. With his permission, I thought I’d share a recent story of his for your encouragement, challenge, and prayers.
“Last night, the region where we live did not get any sirens. We slept through the night! And, since there have not been any morning-time rocket barrages since this whole affair began, and since felt so good after a good night's sleep, I decided to get up and go ride bike with a bunch of 70+ year-olds who ride electric mountain bikes and raid the local watermelon fields (they know the farmers, they say!).
It was so liberating, after all the headlines, and sirens, and pressure, to just go out and pedal, and breathe! We were just arriving at the watermelon patch, when... can you guess? ROCKET LAUNCH DETECTED! A quick look at the app showed the rockets were headed north of our position. Whew! Goodness, I wouldn't want to be caught in the fields when...SIRENS SOUND INTENSIFYING!
Now what? Say a prayer, and turn to the 70+ year olds to...wait, what now? They're cutting the watermelons. Smiling. Handing me a piece. [My wife] writes to ask what's up. I say we're here. She's praying. I'm praying.
Meanwhile, half a dozen ARROW interceptors launch from somewhere nearby, flying eastwards and heavenwards. We eat watermelon. Fresh from the field. It's sweet, and red, and wet, and the sky is blue, and the field so green.
The ARROWS veer south, leaving a bright smoke trail. Then we hear explosions. Very, very, very loud ones. We see the puffs just south of us. We try to guess where. Some call their kids, who have their own kids. One speaks to his wife's foreign caretaker. All is well.
[My wife] reports that all is well. My mom calls to ask if I'm home, if all is well...I tell her I'm having watermelon. All is well.”
Praise God for His gracious provision and care in the midst of suffering. In Christ, “All is truly well.” Pray that the Iranian leaders would turn from their murderous ideology and seek peace for their own people and the world. Pray that the Israeli leaders would respond in ways that do not exacerbate the conflict but bring resolution. Pray for protection for the people of Israel and Iran, and that God would use this suffering to turn many to Jesus Christ.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. - Romans 5:1-5