Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart

May 4, 2005

As a child I was afraid of many things: darkness, big dogs, horses, bridges, high places, and even making friends. I tried to avoid the things that made me fearful. But my mother knew that I couldn’t go through life avoiding everything that frightened me. She taught me to turn to God with my fears. As a practical tool, she told me to memorize Proverbs 3:5–6 and to recite it whenever I was afraid. Over and over again, I found myself repeating those words and asking God to protect me.

Today in Israel, many Jewish people have towering fears, which threaten to crush them: fear of war, fear of terror attacks, fear that the Arab population will soon outnumber them because of higher birthrates, fear of losing the support of the Western world powers, fear of hostile neighbors (notably, Iran), fear of civil war, fear of economic hardship, etc. The list seems endless.

World leaders working with Israel’s leadership have been trying to solve these problems using human intellect, strategy, and knowledge. In the 12 years since the beginning of the Oslo peace process, the strategies have involved dividing the Land of Israel—given by God to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—between the Jewish and Arab populations. Every idea has been contrary to God’s written, covenantal plan for Israel. By the world’s valuation, many logical propositions have surfaced, but to date each one has ended in failure.

In the midst of confusion, I hear the voice of God calling out, trying to be heard over the cacophony of human voices, saying, “Trust in Me. Don’t trust your own plans or ideas. Recognize My wisdom, and acknowledge Me. I will make the plan clear and show you straight paths to My perfect plan for your future and that of your neighbors.”

Trust in the Lord

This is the message Bridges for Peace is speaking into the nation of Israel. Our lives of trust in the Lord speak loudly to all we come in contact with. Every time we give food to the needy, we are saying, “God loves you and knows your needs. You can trust in Him.” When we meet and minister to the needs of immigrants, we are encouraging them by saying, “God said He would bring you home to Israel. He didn’t bring you here to have you perish. Trust in Him. He will provide for you.”

Israeli entrepreneurs come to us to pitch one idea or another, hoping we can help them open the Christian market. They walk away encouraged by the fact that Christians around the world are standing with Israel; they are awed as they see us having faith in God to fulfill His promises to the people and nation of Israel. Israeli Zionists bemoan the fact that many in Israel no longer believe in the Zionist dream (the right of Jews to the Land of Israel), and marvel as they see Christians who are more Zionistic than most Israelis.

God Is Calling, “Trust Me!”

We are encouraged to see that God is stirring the hearts of many to put their trust in Him. Rabbis call for massive prayer meetings. Many Jewish people are calling out to God to intervene in the events of the nation. Orthodox Jewish writers appeal to the people to pray and to put their trust in the Lord. Through Bridges for Peace projects and programs, the Israeli people are meeting Christians who have a living, vital faith in God. We believe that God is using our actions as a testimony to the absolute faithfulness of God.

At a time when large segments of Israeli society are without hope or have no answers to their deepest fears, God wants to remind them that He has been with them and will continue to lead them. Remember His words of encouragement to the people of Israel: “But now, this is what the Lord says—He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior’” (Isaiah 43:1–3b).

God does not always work in straight lines or in ways that make sense to human beings. Sometimes, His strategies have unexpected twists and turns. Sometimes, His ways seem like foolishness to the world. Who would ever think that marching around a city and blowing trumpets would be a good military strategy? Yet God used it to good effect in Jericho! God is calling out to the nation of Israel to put their trust in Him. Now, more than ever, when the situation looks bleak in many ways, He wants His people to remember that He is still God. He is reminding the people of Israel that He brought them back from their dispersion, that He has literally fulfilled many of His promises given through the prophets, and that He will faithfully continue to work in their lives and nation. Pray that the people will put their trust in God Almighty.

Outreach Center Touching 25,000 Lives Every Month

The Bridges for Peace Outreach Center is touching the lives of more than 25,000 people in Israel every month through our food programs, home-repair projects, immigrant projects (Welcome Gifts and Adoption), and the Adopt an Israeli Town program. In addition, thousands more are impacted in the former Soviet Union by Christian love, faith, and trust in God as we assist them in their move to Israel through Project Rescue or provide food, heaters, blankets, and medicine for the sick and elderly who cannot leave through Project Tikvah (Hope).

Your contribution to Bridges for Peace gives our volunteers a voice to speak of God’s great love and faithfulness. It provides the food we distribute (nearly 70 tons every month), the home repairs, the gifts for new immigrants, and the funds to bring people home to Israel. Each act tangibly shows the people that God loves them. Your prayers are vital as God is encouraging His people to put their trust in Him. Your stand for Israel today provides encouragement for people as they see that God has not forgotten them.

Blessings from Jerusalem,
Rebecca J. Brimmer International Executive Director (COO)

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