You Are Part of God’s Plan

Dear Friend,

As I was praying for you this morning, my beloved partner, the Lord spoke to me from Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

That’s the word God gave Jeremiah. I’m sure Jeremiah didn’t feel that way when he was beaten and put in stocks and sunk in mud and his scrolls were burned because of the word of the Lord.

Jerusalem’s Mayor Teddy Kollek knew I liked Jeremiah. Years ago, he told me he wanted to show me Jeremiah’s Grotto, his cave. We went to it together. I was totally astonished because the name of that spot is now called Golgotha, the place where heaven and earth met.

I want to encourage you today to realize God is greater than you think, closer than you think, and more ambitious than you think. 

My father’s abuse of me began when I was 4. By the age of 13, I was working with migrants picking tobacco for 20 cents an hour. At 15, I worked three jobs. When I was 11, my father strangled me when I tried to defend my Jewish mother.

But a miracle happened in the midst of the darkness. The brightest light I’d ever seen came into that room, and I saw the Lord Jesus Christ. His eyes included every color of the rainbow, and His eyes were smiling. The nail scars were not in the palms of his hands but were up on His wrist. As He reached His hands towards me, I could see Him.  

And then He spoke and said three things I had never heard. First, He called me, “Son.” Then He said, “I love you.” Finally, He said, “I have a great plan for your life.” How astonishing!

One word from God can change your life forever. That word from Jesus when I was a boy certainly changed mine. But I had no idea what God had in store.

On the 30th of June 1980 (which happened to be my birthday), I met with Prime Minister Menachem Begin in obedience to the Holy Spirit. I had never met with him before. He asked me three times why I came and I said, “I don’t know, but God sent me.”

He laughed and said, “God sent you and didn’t tell you why?” I said, “That’s correct.” He said, “When God tells you why, come back and tell me. I have finally met an honest man. He believes God sent him, but he doesn’t know why.”

On the fifth of July, I met with Menachem Begin again, and I told him, “I met the prime minister yesterday.” He said, “No, you met me on the 30th of June.” I said, “It’s not you. I prayed over a young man who was grieving his brother’s death by the name of Benjamin Netanyahu. I prophesied over him this, ‘Jonathan loved David. You loved Jonathan. Out of the ashes of your despair will come strength from God, and you will be the prime minister of Israel.’”

I asked Begin to give him a job in the government. He did. His senior advisor, Dr. Reuben Hecht, became my mentor, because when I met him, I called him by the wrong name. I called him the name Joseph.

In tears, he told me that in 1943, his father was dying. He was a shipbuilder in Belgium, and the last words out of his mouth were, “Joseph, Joseph, the nation of Israel will be born, and you will feed it bread.” He told me no one knew this story except his wife, Edith, and that he sold the ship business and started the granary of the nation of Israel. The company was called Dagon, feeding the nation bread.

Since the age of 11, I’ve learned to put all my faith in God. I’ve also learned to celebrate suffering and sacrifice and that nothing comes without a price. 

The Apostle Paul says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

The price of admission to change the world is high. Jesus Himself faced unspeakable evil and betrayal. The Lord told me that when trouble comes, don’t play the victim. He asked me two questions. First, are the things you’re living for worth Christ dying for? Second, are you living your life in the light of eternity?

I have come to realize that it was in the quiet crucible of my personal suffering that my noblest dreams were born. God’s greatest gifts are given in compensation for what I’ve been through. That goes for you, too. 

God has a plan and purpose for your life that is more wonderful and bigger than you can imagine.

Before my father died, he told me that he had dreamt hundreds of times of black stones. He said his grandfather would give two to his father. His father would give two to him, but when he would try to give two to me, I wouldn’t take them because there were already two white stones in my hand. “What does it mean?” he asked.

I said to him, “You told me your grandfather was a racist, abusive alcoholic. You told me your father was the same. You became just like them. Those were generational curses. But when you strangled me, Jesus appeared to me, and He broke the generational curses. The white stones are generational blessings. My son and his son and his son’s son will never know these curses.” My father wept.

I’m sharing all of this with you today to encourage you because you’re doing something great for God. You are part of a 100-year plan. Yes, that’s what God told me. Friends of Zion would be a 100-year plan. It is your legacy. It will shine and impact the nation of Israel decades after you’ve gone to heaven.

Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” That is your promise. You are one of those stars that will shine in Jerusalem. The echo of what you are doing will shine over the holy city of Jerusalem and throughout eternity.

Truly, you are living your life in the light of eternity, and the things you’re living for are worth Christ dying for. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous Holy Spirit-led offering today. Jesus brought His offerings up to Jerusalem. Just like Jesus, you are bringing yours.

With your gift today, we will send you a copy of my book Prayer, Power and Purpose. There is no more powerful tool available to us as children of God than prayer. By understanding the way God works through our prayers, our faith is strengthened, and we see Him work in our world in ways that are impossible in the natural.

Your gift today provides food for hungry Holocaust survivors, housing for refugees from the war, counseling for IDF soldiers dealing with the physical and mental impact of their fighting for their nation’s survival, and so much more. Your gift makes it possible for the Friends of Zion Museum to tell the true story of Christian love to tens of thousands of Jewish people. Your gift makes it possible for us to deliver life-saving food and other emergency supplies to the suffering people of Ukraine.

Widows and orphans and homeless Israelis will rejoice and bless your name when they receive your urgently needed gift. You are truly doing something great for God and making an eternal difference.

The vital work of the Jerusalem Prayer Team is only possible because of friends like you. The needs are enormous. People are suffering because of the war in Israel, and we are literally saving lives because of you. 

Please be as generous as you can. God bless you.

Your ambassador to Jerusalem,

Dr. Mike Evans

P.S. Your being such an important part of the work of the Jerusalem Prayer Team is truly a sign that you have grasped the importance of God’s plan for your life and for His Chosen People. It is such an encouragement to have friends like you standing with us in the work, and I want to be sure you know how deeply we appreciate your help. Even more importantly, I want to be sure you know how deeply the suffering people of Israel appreciate your help. Please stand with them today through your support of this great global prayer movement. Thank you in advance for your generous response.