God's grace and stories of miracles

Words from Yael's Corner
For more visit www.ifcj.org


January 19, 2009

I woke up this morning to the somewhat expected news that Israel has declared a unilateral cease-fire in the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip.I personally have mixed feelings about a cease-fire.But what really touched me was how the Israeli government implemented the decision. Instead of convening the security cabinet on Friday, the Jewish Sabbath, they waited until sundown on Saturday in order to make this crucial decision after God's commanded day of rest concluded.

Throughout the three week war in Gaza we have seen miracles which have assured us that God is with the Jewish people in this war for her survival. Even in the crowded Gaza Strip, where our brave young soldiers were repeatedly under attack by Hamas terrorists, we maintained a relatively low casualty rate.This can only be attributed to the grace of God. And in the seven years that Hamas has fired over 7,000 rockets at Israel's southern towns, most of them have landed in open fields and streets. Again, there is no natural explanation for this -- it is the work of God.The Jewish people are the apple of God's eye and we see how important we are to Him by the cloud of glory with which he surrounds us. That is why it made me so proud of my country when Israel convened the security cabinet after the Jewish Sabbath ended, in order to show proper respect, thanks, and recognition to God after the wonders that He has performed for His nation.

The war in Gaza began during Hanukkah, which everyone knows as the holiday of miracles -- the small can of olive oil which should have only lasted for one day that ended up burning for eight, and the small number of Maccabees who prevailed against the far greater number of soldiers of the mighty Greeks. The energy of Hanukkah was carried on throughout the war in Gaza and God sent both open and hidden miracles to inspire, encourage, and protect His nation during our fearful time of war. Just yesterday, on Shabbat, a rocket struck and destroyed a Synagogue near Ofakim, less than 10 minutes after the worshippers departed for home after concluding the morning prayers. Revealed miracles like this happened every day here in the Holy Land.

There are many miracle stories that the soldiers returning from Gaza are publicly recounting, yet one story I read stood out above the rest. There was a group of soldiers going house to house in Gaza looking for terrorists. As they entered one house, a woman approached and told them that the house was booby-trapped and they should run out immediately. They complied and 30 seconds later the house exploded. The soldiers went to the next house where the same woman approached and told them to run. Thirty seconds later the house exploded. She then led them to a house where she said high ranking terrorists were hiding and in fact she was correct.

When the soldiers asked the old lady how she knew all of these things she simply answered that she is our biblical foremother Rachel and was sent to watch out for the soldiers. She then walked away and was never seen again. According to many different accounts from the soldiers this story is true, yet whether you choose believe it or not, there is a lesson to be learned -- when we put our faith in God He will reveal Himself.

The chances for this cease-fire to succeed look remote at this moment. It has not even been 12 hours since the cease-fire was implemented and there have already been 9 Hamas rockets fired at southern Israeli towns. Hamas has vowed to continue fighting Israel and there have yet to be any resolutions put in place to halt the arms smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, which is one of the largest problems we face.
Although there are many factors which could point to this being just another failed peace initiative, we Israelis have been trained to believe in miracles and put trust in our democratically elected government. Together we all stand firm in our desire for peace and will continue to jump on every opportunity to attain it. We know that through prayer and faithfulness to God nothing is impossible -- even the elusive vision of peace in the Holy Land.