Written by Mindy Lehehan based on interview with Linda Reppert
If you were to walk with me onto Israeli ground, you could not help but be taken back by the extensive desert, rugged terrain and rocky hillsides. Yet there remains something striking about the perilous and unattractive land. Countless wars have been fought here. Jerusalem leveled 18 times and built again. Conquered 37 times and changed human hands 86 times, yet one thing always remained. This land is His. The territory He promised to His people. The land He chose to walk as a man, tell the beautiful gospel story that embraces the whole world.
There truly is no other country like Israel. But why would the God of the universe pick this place to reveal what some call His fifth gospel*? Why, with the world at His feet, did He not settle His people among the majestic mountains of Switzerland or the tropical beaches of Hawaii? But one does not walk with Him for long before we learn; He does all things on purpose.
Nothing about this land speaks of an effortless life. From the lack of rain to the constant combat, living here requires faith and some serious prayer. Knowing what we need better than we do, God provides for His people a place demanding total dependence on Him to survive. As David beautifully penned, “Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I see you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1) In the heart of a vast desert, the Lord found the perfect location for the Holy to enter into relationship with the human. Survival meant trust in Him alone.
There are limitless lessons to be learned from this distinctive land. Physically walking in the desert allows familiar Scripture to come alive. You can see the valley of the shadow; better understand the parable of the seeds. But long after returning home, it still continues to speak. Passages in the Bible normally skimmed over suddenly come alive. There are lessons in the wilderness, in the rocks, in the water. So much wisdom buried here; we could never reach the bottom. All have impact on our lives today.
The Lord has seen fit to remove me from the tennis courts but has given me the privilege of walking in His courts – His land. Will you join me in an archeological dig of sorts as we uncover some beautiful treasures hidden in the terrain of Israel and in the riches of God’s Word? Once you uncover one gem, you often find another…and the journey continues deeper and deeper into the heart of God. And maybe you also will find yourself loving the land He loves.
*My tour guide referred to the land as the fifth gospel. I found this interesting since the details of the land clearly reinforce the message of the four gospels – God loves us, came to rescue us from our sin through the death of Jesus and is alive preparing a place for us in eternity.
To meet Linda Reppert today you would never know a few months ago she was diagnosed with a serious heart disease expected to affect her quality of life and shorten her life span.Her slender, athletic build, sun kissed skin and hair conveys a picture of health.When her steady hazel eyes meet yours and her lips give way to a friendly smile, there is no indication of fear or uncertainty.Yet, for eight long months she has had countless doctor appointments, numerous tests and a surgery to determine what has caused her enlarged heart.It is still unknown why her blood pumps at only 50% capacity.At times she has actually felt her heart working inside her as it struggled to do its intended job.Facing a relentless fatigue daily she still cares for her family and friends as the ever strong one.It was in the midst of such crucial physical circumstances; Linda made the decision to visit Israel a second time.
Linda had been home only four days when she agreed to meet with me following her fourth doctor appointment of the week.Due to being sent for an unforeseen test our time was delayed although the results of that appointment would become the driving force behind my every word.I walked into Linda’s home only hours after she received news open heart surgery was recommended to repair or replace a worn out defective valve the doctors believe is a contributing cause of her enlarged heart.She was given less than a 60% chance her life will improve after the surgery.Remaining untreated, her heart will eventually stop working.I sat and listened to her story while my own heart ached and tears poured on my paper, yet not once did her faith appear to waiver.Not once did she seem without hope. Heaviness came over me as I realized the weight of the story God had entrusted me to write.It was one with much more impact than a friend’s recent visit to Israel.
With her doctor’s approval Linda set out on a journey that would change, challenge and encourage her as she faced the trial of a lifetime.“Though I immediately started feeling my heart struggling I did not miss a minute of the tour.Aside from my husband and two close friends the other 28 people did not know of my condition.I did not want to be the ‘sick one’ or someone people had to worry about.”Despite her swollen legs and extreme fatigue she felt God strengthen her to press on to each location and soak in many lessons.
Near the end of the trip there came a time for her secret to be revealed.As they neared the Pool of Bethesda, known as a place of healing, Linda knew she could not leave without prayer.“Being obedient to James 5:14: ‘If anyone is sick, let him call to the elders to pray and anoint him with oil.’This would be the third time I requested this from a different set of elders in different locations.”Knowing He could heal, and trusting Him completely with the decision, they prayed fervently each time.Linda’s heart remained the same.Yet that moment in Jerusalem became most memorable as God spoke to her soul through James 1:2-4:“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”Like Paul, she had brought her request before the Lord three times and He had chosen for her to endure. “I realized that going through this trial was the only way God could make me ‘mature and complete, not lacking in anything.’We all want the end result, but most of us do not want to go through the trial to get the maturity.”She felt peace and a renewed joy to be serving Him, even with a defective heart.
They visited a church near the pool where the acoustics could have made a frog croak sound like a blue bird in the morning.“How could we not sing?”Fresh from begging her Maker for healing, still sick she turned to Him and sang, “Lord, I give you my heart…”The significance of the words not lost on her she continued on, “I give you my soul, and I live for you alone.Every breath that I take, every moment I am awake, Lord have Your way in me…”
Another powerful moment on this pilgrimage to the Holy Land was when they passed through the valley of death and entered the Garden of Gethsemane.Heart pounding, breathless and sweating, Linda was overwhelmed thinking the Lord was allowing her to share in a very slight glimpse of His suffering in the Garden.“I realized this was not only a place of prayer, but a place of decision.What God was asking me to endure would cost me something.Would I be able to reach the point in the struggle to pray, ‘Not my will, but yours be done?’The lesson continued as I recognized this place of prayer and decision was also a place of betrayal.”Tears stung her eyes, but the pain that filled her heart at that moment was not physical.She knew betrayal.Any tears cried since her diagnosis was not from fear or pain, but rather the lack of encouragement from some of her family.Ones trusted to protect her seemed to be leaving her alone at a time when most needed.Mercifully, her pain, decision and betrayal were very tiny compared to Jesus who had faced total separation from God when He bore our sin.Because of this, Linda would never have to be alone.Jesus would be her constant companion during her trial.She would steady her eyes on her Savior as He has fixed His eyes on His Father.She knew there would be glory after her Gethsemane just as Jesus had glory after His.
Leaving the Garden they trekked on down the Via Dolorosa, the street where Jesus carried His cross up to Golgotha.“When Jesus entered Jerusalem he came down a hill on a donkey and the people cried ‘Hosanna!’It was a grand entrance coming down the hill but when He left the city it was a sorrowful incline.He had been beaten and you could almost picture Him in the street with the cross.He came in all His glory and I sent Him out with all my sin.”Linda’s chest again hurt, this time the pain spiritual as she felt the crushing cost of her own sin upon the back of her Savior.To stop there would be to lose all hope, so she continued on.
Walking from the place of the Skull to the garden tomb, Linda’s heart took on a renewed strength.She could not wait to get there.Just as Jesus’ fearful and despairing disciples became courageous and filled with hope at the sight of the risen Lord, Linda’s disposition also changed.“We all took our turn going into the tomb.People were exiting with heads down processing it or weeping.I came out with a smile and my arms were raised.It was a place of victory; a place of hope.”Many have shed tears over her physical struggle, but she really has not.If she has cried it has been in response to the reactions of others.The same hope that fills the empty tomb fills her entire being.Her confidence lies not in the doctor’s words but in the very Word of God.“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)Though an uncertain road lies ahead, she walks in complete trust of the God that has ordained her every day.
