Casandra Martin

I just returned from an amazing adventure. I got to go to Israel and walk in the places where Jesus walked. It was a soul-stirring, imagination-expanding, heart-stretching, faith-infusing journey.

The colors, textures, details, and dimensions of everything I saw are still sinking in. I walked in the shepherd’s field and imagined angels singing about the arrival of Immanuel. I sat on the teaching steps in the temple and listened to His voice call once again for my heart. I dipped my toes in the Sea of Galilee. I wept in the Garden of Gethsemane, hung my head and grieved at Golgotha, and rejoiced in the entrance of the empty tomb.

There is a richness and depth of understanding that flows from being able to see the land that felt His footsteps and heard His voice. But it was its familiarity that took me by surprise.

I have walked in the Holy Lands before. Even though this was the first time to have an Israeli stamp in my passport, I have visited this country many times. So have you. Every time we open our Bibles, we walk where He walked. We visit the temple each time we read through the Psalms, pray with Solomon, stand with Ezra, or walk with Peter. This wasn’t the first time that I have wept in Gethsemane, walked the steps to Caiaphas’ house, or stood in wonder on the Mount of Olives. The hills around Galilee have our footprints as deeply embedded in its soil as it does Christ’s. Each time we read His Word, we walk in His steps and take a faith journey destined to change us forever.

My Jesus Resolution today is to visit the Holy Land…again. I am going to open my Bible and pay attention to the landscape that takes shape in its pages. The mountains are real. The wilderness is desolate and demands dependence. The Jordan River flows through the land, testifying to God’s faithful promises. The palms of En Gedi stand in sharp contrast to the starkness of the Dead Sea, reminding me of the power of Living Water. Walking the Holy Land invites me to walk with the Holy One, and that is what the journey is all about.