A Life in Exile

I am taking a risk in writing this blog post because I am sure it will make more than one person mad at me. Just as I seldom write about American political issues, I also hesitate to write my opinion about what is happening in the Middle East. Even in writing this two weeks prior to the day it posts, I know even more can happen to affect public opinion and the reality on the ground. Still, here I go.

Why this is hard.

As many of you know, I lived over twenty years in the Middle East and North Africa, serving among Muslims and Arabs alongside my late Egyptian-American husband. Our children were born in Beirut, Lebanon in the years when Hezbollah was gaining a foothold. I was in Southern Lebanon, within the security zone the day before Israel launched the Grapes of Wrath campaign in 1996.

I’ve lived in Damascus, Syria, and traveled around that beautiful country, working to build up the believers there. And like in Lebanon, many of those we loved are now living in other countries, as Christian populations are fleeing after years of religious and economic pressures.

These are just two of the six countries where we lived during our time in the region, but as a result of our ministry and travels, we know Muslims and Christians from all these lands affected by the current conflict. While many in the West see a quick headline on the news, I see people. I see families. I see homes and churches.

This is also hard because everyone is affected by their own news feed and societal influences. This is as much for the American Christian as it is for the Middle Eastern Christian. When a message is constantly broadcast it is hard to avoid or push back against its influence in our minds and hearts. I had just such a conversation this past week with a friend, as we discussed what Israel was doing in Gaza and Lebanon.

What can be justified? What can be condemned? Can peace come without a cost? Where are the answers? Are there answers?

God’s Word on the matter.

I’m not turning to God’s word to justify anything or to offer a specific millennial view. There are enough people doing that. I’m turning to God’s Word to help me (and maybe you) get a handle on how and why this can even be happening in our present day.

The one thing I will say that makes us think about the return of Christ is the phrase used in Scripture of “the last days.” For many, you can say the last days began at the point of Christ’s ascension into heaven post-resurrection. From the time he left until the time he returns; we are in the last days. Those days have lasted two thousand years so far, with no end in sight. Others will say we are seeing the last days now, as there is an increase in all the signs. Let me give you a few verses to decide.

When asked about the signs of end of the age, Jesus said this to his disciples:

“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains. (Matthew 24:4-8 CSB)

As long as man’s heart is bent toward evil, wars will happen. Men pray for peace, but there is no peace. Why? Because they do not change their ways. The Lord revealed this through the prophet Jeremiah, and it holds true today:

“From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 6:13-15)

So, what do these scriptures tell me? As long as men seek their own ways, there will be division and war. This is nothing new under the sun, but we seem so surprised when it happens. Why should our generation be saved from war? Are our nations following the way of Christ? Are we turning toward God or further away from him? Will the innocent or Christians be saved from such violence? No. If God’s own Son was not saved from injustice and death, what keeps us from suffering?

God’s judgment of the nations.

The Bible is full of God’s judgment toward those who do not follow him. When bad things happen in America, I think it’s funny to hear people deny that God could be judging our nation. Why wouldn’t he? Some of the horrible things we’re suffering is at our own hand and some are as a result of living in a fallen world, but I also believe God allows evil to have its way at the hand of men to wake us up to the reality that we’re in a mess as a people. I prayed after 9/11 that America would return to the Lord. Well, that was a pipe dream, if ever there was one. If that didn’t work, what will it take?

That said, when I turn my eyes to the Middle East, the region I love and that the Lord loves, I hurt, because her people continue to deny the God of Creation and turn to other gods and idols. All you have to do is read chapters 13-31 of Isaiah to understand why what we’re seeing in our day is expected. Look at this example:

In that day their strong cities, which they left because of the Israelites, will be like places abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. And all will be desolation. You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines, though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain. Woe to the many nations that rage—they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar—they roar like the roaring of great waters! Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale. (Isaiah 17:9-13)

This prophecy against Damascus rings so true with me, as I lived there and know its richness, great harvests of fruits and vegetables. It was such a fertile land but now dwells in devastation due to internal and external fighting. The land where Paul met the Lord is in great pain and has lost all influence in the Arab world. It is with Syria as it is with all the nations:

The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth. (Isaiah 23:9)

Not one nation will be spared in the last days, as each one has turned to its own ways and is reaping the wages of sin and wickedness. This includes Israel, who sought her own strength and not that of the Lord.

You counted the buildings in Jerusalem and tore down houses to strengthen the wall. You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago. The Lord, the Lord Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth. But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!” The Lord Almighty has revealed this in my hearing: “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty. (Isaiah 22:10-14)

Yes, the current state of Israel is in a state of rebellion against God, the majority of the population being secular or atheist. Though this time they are winning, they will soon be caught unawares in their arrogance at bringing peace.

So, who do I support?

I support God accomplishing his will among the nations. I recognize the right of Israel to defend herself against those who would like to wipe her from the earth. As a nation, she has that right. I also know the land of Israel and her people are important to God. Yes, though it’s hard for some to hear it, Jews are the chosen people. What I like to point out is that they were chosen despite who they were. They were not chosen because they were special or worthy, but because that’s what God wanted. He chose them to set them aside, to live in accordance with his ways, to the end purpose of being a blessing to the nations and drawing all peoples to the God of all Creation.

Israel failed on their part, but that did not nullify God’s love for them or his ultimate covenant in restoring the land and bringing the King to reign there for eternity. That’s the reason Israel matters—because the land and her people matter to God.

In the meantime, Israel will continue in disobedience and rejection of God’s Word. Their hardening to the gospel is for a specific period of time during which we Gentiles are given access to salvation through Christ (Romans 11:25-29). For those who are living at the time of tribulation, they’ll pay a dear price for waiting till the end to accept Christ. What is the answer to all this mess? The same answer it’s been since day one—the Messiah. Jews need Jesus today. There is no other way. Muslims need Jesus today. There is no other way. Christians in the Middle East need Jesus today. There is no other way.

Wars are going to continue. It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

So, what do we do as believers in Jesus?

Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. (2 Peter 3:14)

We must be found faithful. I want to be the hands, feet, and words of Jesus to the suffering—on both sides—whenever I can. Christians have and are playing an important role in the Middle East to help those suffering. And for those Christians from the region, they are doing it while they are also suffering. Constant wars and violence are hard on Middle Eastern believers, and they need our prayers and help. They’ve suffered as well, and yet, they are opening their churches and organizations to help the vulnerable and hurting in the name of Christ. We need to support them in this important work.

I also want to share the words of our Lord Jesus, because I think they remind us that these days are just going to continue getting harder, and we need to recognize what that means.

“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:9-14)

Many, who claim to know Christ will fall away as this world becomes a complicated, dark place of conflict. Already, I know many Middle Eastern Christians who are hurting because the Western Church is seemingly taking the side of Israel against their own people. Blanket statements of support for Israel come across as anti-Arab, as many American Christians forget that Christians have been in the Middle East for millennia. I pray that our political views will stay out of the church and that believers will find balance in how to express their opinions.

Constant war and oppression are wearing down Middle Eastern Christians. Also, Western believers grow numb to the constant headlines, forgetting that real people are being affected and they need our prayers and support. Instead, hearts grow cold on both sides. What do believers need to do? Endure to the end. Endure in faith through the wars, through the suffering, through the injustice, through the oppression and persecution. If American Christians think they are immune to such horrors, just wait. Our day is coming, and don’t think it’s not.

There was a parable Jesus shared to remind his followers that they should always pray and not faint during the hard days. At the end, he gave this reminder of hope and caution:

Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them? I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:7-8)

Whatever comes in this world, Lord find us faithful.

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Wednesday Wisdom, click HERE, or check out these other posts on the Middle East: In Christ Alone, Work While It Is Day, and When Missionaries Take Sides.