Finding Faith in Dangerous Times

September 9, 2024

by: Rebecca J. Brimmer, International President

Tom and I lived in Israel for 33 years. We lived through wars, terror attacks, suicide bombings and terror arson. We ran to bomb shelters with our Israeli neighbors and donned gas masks during the Saddam Hussein era. At one period, suicide bombings in Jerusalem were a common occurrence.

Many international workers left in times of tension, their companies sending them to safer places, but we never left because of the danger. We felt that it was the best time to show our support for Israel when times were tough. Although there were times when we felt the adrenaline flowing through our bodies in response to the wailing sirens, we also had peace in our hearts. Many Israelis expressed amazement that we had stayed, and that we had a peaceful heart in the midst of trouble. How is that possible?

I think one answer is that we find faith by remembering what God has done in the past and believing that He can and will act on our behalf in the future. In the Scriptures, the Lord tells us to remember His acts, and I believe it is for exactly this reason. He wants to build faith in His people. He told the Children of Israel to tell His faithful deeds to their children. Each year during the biblical cycle of feasts, the stories of God’s acts on behalf of the Israel are retold. In a similar fashion, we learn from our parents and grandparents from their own experiences, and faith builds from generation to generation.

Miracles Experienced

I have witnessed many miracles. One day, I was in Jerusalem walking near the shuk (open-air market) on my way to meet Tom. We had agreed on a specific time, and I didn’t have time to stop and shop. So, when I had a sudden desire to stop in a bookstore, I immediately dismissed the idea, telling myself, “Becky, you don’t have time or money. There is no point in stopping at the Book Maven!” I dismissed the thought three times, yet too my surprise, I suddenly found myself standing in the store, asking myself why I was there. That’s when a bomb went off, right where I would have been walking, had I not taken the detour into the store. I am convinced the Lord protected me.

Miracles Witnessed

During the Gulf War in 1991, Saddam Hussein bombed civilian areas of Israel with 39 scud missiles. I saw buildings demolished entirely. Every day, we would read miracle accounts of protection in the paper. One stands out in my memory.

An Orthodox Jewish man arrived home on Friday afternoon, expecting a normal Shabbat (Sabbath) meal. Yet his wife met him, insisted that they not stay in their home for Shabbat. Where were they to go, he wondered, perplexed. He tried to reason with her, but she would not be calmed down. Finally, they took the whole family to another location.

That night, their home took a direct hit from a scud missile. It was completely destroyed. Yet their entire family was saved because the mother “knew” they had to be somewhere else. The papers showed this man wrapped in his prayer shawl walking up and down in front of his destroyed home, praying and thanking God for a righteous wife.

I remember another picture in the paper of a young man buried in rubble, with only his head protruding from the rocks. The first responders carefully cleared away the debris, only to find he wasn’t injured in any way.

The Second Intifada (Palestinian uprising) raged from 2000–2005, and suicide bombings were common. Several Bridges for Peace volunteers were close when one of these bombers detonated, but were saved from harm. Two of our female volunteers were out walking down a particular street, when one told the other out of the blue, “We need to go in the other direction.” They did so and when they reached the top of the street, a bomb detonated at the bottom of the street—right where they would have been had they not turned around. The lady told us afterward that the Lord spoke to her heart.

Another one of our volunteers was waiting for a bus when it blew up right in front of him. He felt like he was in a bubble, as a blast blew over and around him, without harming him physically.

When we volunteered on a kibbutz (collective community), Tom worked with a man who had been an officer in the First Lebanon War in 1982. He told of a time when he was directed to take his ten men and make sure a wadi (dry river canyon) was clear of enemy combatants. As they rounded a corner, a terrorist jumped from behind a rock, aiming a Kalashnikov automatic gun at them and emptying the clip at point blank range. The terrorist then managed to get a second clip in his gun and fired half of it before he was felled.

Yuval told Tom, “Nobody misses with an automatic weapon at that close range, but I wasn’t hit. I turned around slowly, expecting to see all my men dead on the ground around me. But none of us had been hit.”

Yuval admitted, “My men and I have talked about it many times, and we think that God sent angels and they blocked the bullets so we weren’t hit.”

The Miracles Continue

Israel is once again facing a trying time, and once again, the Bridges for Peace team has chosen to stay put.

In April, Iran fired over 300 rockets and armed drones at the Jewish state. Israel and her allies were able to overcome the onslaught. All over Israel, people talked about the miracle that they had experienced.

The enemies of Israel will continue to try to annihilate the Jewish state, but we must remember that the God of Israel is alive. The way He acted in miraculous ways in the past, He will do in the future. We build our faith by remembering who He is, what He has promised and how He has acted in the past. “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved” (Ps. 62:1–2).

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