-Golan Heights looking over Syria

I had seen on our schedule that we were going to Golan Heights but to be honest I did not know much about it. I was really just along for the whole Israel ride.🙂 In His usual way though the Lord had a lesson for me. While we were climbing the “mountain”, really more of a hill but I digress, I learned that Golan Heights is a place that when you reach the top you can look one way and you will see Lebanon, and if you spin directly around you look out over Syria. There is even a little dirt road you can see leading from Israel into Syria. At first glance it reminded me of a road less traveled. It has been a large point of contention for many years in all of the surrounding nations because of its location. It is known as “the land for peace” in Israel, and in biblical times it was known as “Bashan,” which means “fruitful.”

I will admit most of the information I had heard about Syria had not been good. My personal view was it was not a place I was interested in learning about nor caring about. My husband had served in our military for 20 years and all I knew about Syria was that is where terrorists lived and where terrorist groups trained to kill people. It was a place that took my husband away from us for 6-9 months at a time. Away from his family, away from our life. It was the place that was dangerous and that had taken away precious time from my family. 

John 15:12-13 NIV

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 

But on this day I learned to see Syria and its people through the eyes of Jesus. So many years after deployments, sleepless nights, heart wrenching goodbyes and so many tears the Lord healed that place in my heart. He healed a place in my heart that I was not even aware was broken. He broke my heart in a new way, a good way. He showed me that even though there was evil there and even though there are evil people that He can still heal. As I was standing there listening to our guide, Dan, teach us about what we were seeing I heard the Lord so clearly say to me, “I died for them to.” I felt like the wind got knocked out of me. I stood there contemplating that statement and had to take a deep breath. He then said, “If you truly want to love me, you have to love them too.” As I stood there with tears running down my cheeks all I could think was that I had to let go of the pain and judgement of what I had held onto tightly for so long. I felt like I needed to hang onto that for my husband, my family, and that I would be un-American or that I would be a traitor for all those who had fought battles and died for us. I learned that while I am never ok with the evil that sometimes takes our military members evil is all around us. It’s not just in Syria or Lebanon or even Israel. It is the world we chose. We were given a sinless and pure world and we (humans) made the decision to have sin enter in. Adam and Eve made the choice to eat from the tree. I learned that if I am to move forward in a deeper understanding and knowledge of the Lord and his love then I had to see everyone differently, including those in Syria. I had to have a kingdom mindset, not a worldly one. I had to do the opposite of what the world teaches.

As we prayed for the people of Syria, Jordan and Lebanon I felt a weight lift and a peace fill my heart. I felt a sadness for those that had not chosen to be born there but had to grow up there not knowing any different. I felt a loneliness for those that grew up only learning to hate others that were unlike them. I felt a longing in our prayers that day that the Holy Spirit would invade this region and that it would fall on every heart that did not truly know Him.

As we finished our prayers on top of Golan Heights one of the ladies in my group, with tears in her eyes said, “look at all that mustard seed. Look how it’s leaning down toward Syria. That gives me hope.” That viewpoint did give me hope. It gave me hope of a peaceful nation. A beautiful region filled with the Holy Spirit. 

Matthew 17:20 NIV

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I can say today that this was one of my favorite days in Israel. A day I did not expect but one that I needed. This day was a day that my faith grew. Thank you Lord for this day and may I always remember this day on top of Golan Heights where I heard your gentle voice nudging me deeper into relationship with you.