INTERVIEW: Messianic believer with sons who've been serving in IDF – one in Gaza – shares about trusting God during wartime

Rosie Ross is the founder of “Repairing the Breach,” an organization formed by a group of British Christians who “recognize that Britain was called to help birth the restoration of a homeland for the Jewish people.”

The name of the group comes from the verse from Isaiah 58:12: “You shall raise up the foundations of many generations: And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach.”

Among its objectives, the organization has a vision to heighten awareness of Britain’s history with the Jewish people and the land of Israel and to build healing relationships with Jews and their families who suffered during the British Mandate period from 1920 to 1948.

In a recent interview with Paul Calvert, a Christian journalist based in the Middle East, Ross talked about Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza and the importance of faith in the midst of battles.

Ross, who lives in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, shared her experience the day the war began on October 7.

She and her family were on vacation in England on what Israel now calls the "Black Shabbat," when she began receiving messages from different family members about the Hamas invasion and attack on Israel’s southern border with Gaza. There were “terrorists on the loose” in her city, she told Calvert, and eventually, they made their way back home.

With an estimated 1,200 rockets from Gaza terrorists fired upon the city, Ross said residents of Ashkelon were encouraged to evacuate.

“We came into Ashkelon to collect some of our valuables, and as we came in, a siren went off and we saw where two rockets had landed and the smoke from the rockets, I mean, thank God they were in open ground. And it's really the miracles of the Lord that there was not more damage, although we have to recognize that a lot of that is due to Israel pouring a lot of money into our defense and the Iron Dome defense system,” Ross said.

When the sirens went off, they knew they had about 30 seconds to enter the public bomb shelter.

“You have to just adapt very quickly and well, if you're not panicking, you can walk, but if you're panicking a bit, you run,” she told Calvert.

Eventually, the family evacuated and temporarily moved south to Beersheva, on the northern edge of the Negev Desert, to be near family. Later, they were offered an opportunity to fly to the United States, where they stayed for about six weeks.

Her children, however, were all in Israel and two were called up to military reserves to serve in the IDF.

Ross' son David served with the IDF Spokesman's Office and her son Steven is a combat medic in Gaza. She said there had been lots of prayer for her son both locally and from the international community. Ross was grateful that they “were not carrying this burden alone.”

She shared that it was “incredibly difficult at the beginning” when she did not have any contact with Steven for three weeks. During challenging times, she said, faith and trust in God provide the strength that is needed to cope.

“One trusts God, but one is very human. And I've had different traumas in my life. I mean, I've lived through…the terrorist bombings in Jerusalem back over 20 years ago. So that was just one of the different traumas I've had in my own life. And so, I find that sometimes I can be vulnerable to anxiety when, you know, I hear a siren or something like that. But ultimately, my trust is in the Lord.”

“And I remember one of the most intense weeks of the war that we were in here. We were reading Psalm 27 and gathering with other believers, looking at that Psalm,” she continued. “And there is so much strength in the Word of God in, you know, these days. And many Jewish people, particularly the religious, of course, are reading the Psalms. And, you know, it's a time when many people are thinking about God, whether they're secular or not, and praying and genuinely crying out to God. They may not yet know Yeshua the Messiah, but I think the Lord is at work in the hearts of people in Israel.”

Ross addressed the recent tragic incident in Gaza, where 21 IDF soldiers were killed in one day. During situations like that, she said, there is an ongoing battle in the mind between trusting God and fearing what could happen.

“Christians can get killed. And I think that's the dilemma for every mother or every wife or partner of a soldier in Gaza. And I know many who say that they couldn't sleep. I thank God that I could sleep most of the time.”

Ross said she has been hearing stories over the last few months about the miracles happening during the war in Gaza, particularly of soldiers being saved from death and injury.

“I know of three stories of believers where they were very, very close to death. And I mean, I don't desire the death of anyone, but it does seem that God is looking after the believers in a special way, although obviously there have been believers who've been killed and we don't know God's ways.”

Ross’ son Steven has now been released from reserve duty and she is grateful for all those who have been interceding for him and the IDF, in general.

“Most of us in the body of Christ here are praying for the soldiers. It's a terrible job that they have to do, but they are doing it and with a lot of courage.”

“There is not one Israeli mother who would want their son fighting in Gaza. And Israel went into Gaza well, like any war, I mean, yes, because we felt it was a righteous cause because of the terrible attack on October the 7th. But we go in with trepidation, knowing the cost of war. And we're experiencing that now.”

Ross said there have been opportunities as a believer to share her faith in the Lord and about trusting Him during trials. She noted a scripture in Isaiah, which talks about God healing the brokenhearted and said the Lord allows opportunities in this time of real pain and struggle.

“Well, it's been a life scripture for me,” she said. “But it's really come alive in these days. And I've been able to share, you know, those scriptures with some of those we've got to know over the years. And they know that we believe Yeshua fulfilled, that Jesus fulfilled, Isaiah 61.”

She also said that fellowship has been a key to experiencing God’s peace during wartime and with the many pressures people are facing individually and as a society.

“I went to a day of worship and prayer and testimony yesterday, and to be with other believers who are praying for the situation, who are agonizing over the situation. It's a blessing and an encouragement.”

The Repairing the Breach group is planning a tour in May for young adults from the UK to come to Israel.

“We've been praying a lot, and we're looking to the Lord to bring young adults here to experience what life really is like here in Israel and just to be in those places where Yeshua was, where the Bible events happened, but obviously where British history has also been played out during the British Mandate.”

The timing of the tour in May coincides with significant historical dates for the State of Israel, including Holocaust Memorial Day, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers, and Independence Day, which celebrates the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948.

Ross said her prayer for Israel at this time is  that “the veil would be lifted” from the Jewish people

“Obviously, that's God's timing, but that God would save the people of Israel – that they would have a revelation of Jesus” and that broken hearts would “be healed through encountering the Lord himself, through encountering believers who love Israel – who love them.”

"Repairing The Breach" is a member ministry of "Love Never Fails," a coalition of UK-based Christian Israel-related organizations.

Click here to learn more about the upcoming Young Adults trip from May 4 to 14, 2024 or send an email inquiry to [email protected].

Click below to listen to the full interview.