In times of hardship it is often difficult for people to believe that God is good and faithful. In the middle of a crisis our faith is put to the test and we learn to trust Him more than ever. At that moment, we have a choice: will we doubt God and blame Him for our troubles? Or will we worship Him in the storm knowing that He is good and faithful?
The world is changing around us. Many people are going through difficulties right now, whether financial, political, emotional, spiritual or physical. Recently I was in a prayer house in Jerusalem and I met Lidia, a girl from Ukraine. I invited her to stay in our house in the Galilee and spend the Feast of Trumpets with us. She then told us her incredible story. Her parents were the pastors of a church in Mariupol, Ukraine and she was the worship leader. They had a good life and many people there came to know Jesus. Then half a year ago Russia attacked Ukraine. At the time Lidia was in Odessa, but her parents were at home in Mariupol. Suddenly, they had to flee for their lives because their apartment was bombed and completely destroyed. They fled to the basement of their church, which was near the famous Azovstalsteel factory. Together with 200 believers they huddled in the dark, without electricity, food, water, and they had no idea what was going on outside. They sent several men to go outside and find food, but sadly they never came back. Later they found their bodies, and had to bury them in the church graveyard. Many buildings around them collapsed and thousands of people died. They were trapped because Russia had surrounded the city and was not letting any people out through humanitarian corridors. But in the midst of this terrible crisis, they kept believing that God was good and together they worshipped Jesus in the middle of the storm.
After three weeks with barely any food and water, they had to make a decision to leave, because staying below the church was too dangerous. They decided to put their lives in the hands of the Lord, and planned to leave early in the morning with 25 cars and drive straight out of Mariupol, past the Russians, to their freedom. The night before they left, they prayed, and suddenly a friend brought a wealthy businessman who gave them a huge meal! It wasn’t just any meal, it was the fanciest meal they ever had, with salmon and all kinds of delicacies. Like the Israelites, leaving Egypt during the Exodus, God set a table before them, in the middle of their enemies. He had provided food for them to have the strength to escape and make the exodus. The next morning they all got into the cars and started driving in one long column of cars out of Mariupol. The bullets were flying overhead and their cars were hit, but no one was hurt! Miraculously they escaped and found their way to the border. There they reunited with their families and eventually made it to Germany, where they are now living in peace. What a testimony of faith!
My dear friend Lidia then made her way to Israel and now she was singing her praises to God over the Galilee. At the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh haShana) I asked her to sing a song from her heart and she chose to sing “Goodness of God”. Some people asked her: “How come you are still so cheerful?” She told them that though she had lost everything, she still had the most important thing: Jesus and He was always good. Instead of being angry at God for losing everything, she was praising God for His love and faithfulness. She compared it to David, singing the psalms of praise to God, while he was under attack. Hear Lidiia’s personal story and watch her singing on the Feast of Trumpets here:
The Lord never promised us that it would be easy. But He promised us that no matter what we go through, He would be there with us. Can we worship Him in the storm?
Here in Israel we are celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles (Succoth). This is the 7th Biblical feast of the Lord, the feast of the final Harvest and the feast of all nations. There are many more beautiful themes during the Feast of Tabernacles. One of them is that it is a reminder of Gods provision in the wilderness. We celebrate this feast every year as a reminder that God is with us, even in the desert and in the storm. Interestingly, this feast is also called: “The season of our joy” and God asks us to rejoice and celebrate that He is good. We build small succahs-tabernacles in our yard and eat in it for seven days. The roof of the Succah is partly open so we can see the stars. So we can understand that God reigns almighty and on this earth we are frail and completely dependent on God. Our security is not in our houses and possessions, only God is our security. When we trust in Him, He will lead us through the wilderness. He protects us and leads us through the crisis. In the New Covenant, through Jesus, the Succah is also a reminder of our bodies and that God came and tabernacled in us. Our bodies are fragile, but He lives in us and therefore we should rejoice! The Succah can easily be blown over by the wind, but with the Messiah in our hearts we have real shelter and we can rejoice and have a season of joy! It shows that we are transient in this world and our earthly home will pass away, but Gods things are eternal. In this life, we are dependent on him, He provides our food, and our water in the desert. In the Succah we seta table with delicious food, to remind us that God sets a table for us in the middle of the storm, and that He is good and faithful. We rejoice and sing and worship Him for his steadfast love and mercy.
As the winter is about to start in Europe, I pray that instead of doubting God in times of hardship, we will choose to have faith, knowing the Father is good and loves us.
“For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.“Psalm 100:5
ChagSameach! Blessings in Yeshua.
Jennifer Guetta
Jennifer Guetta is a writer, speaker and biblical archaeologist who had a supernatural encounter with Jesus. In her book “Awestruck by Glory” she tells her incredible testimony. She founded Plant Hope Israel and speaks throughout the world to glorify her savior. www.awestruckbyglory.com, www.planthopeisrael.com
