September 11 was a horrible day. The horror is still sinking in. The hijacking of airplanes, the destruction of the World Trade Center, the attack on the Pentagon, the awful loss of life, stunned Americans and shook people around the world. We mourn those who died. We grieve with families who lost loved ones. We agonize for those in hospitals who struggle to survive. We honor the brave fire fighters and police officers who died after helping many people to safety. We applaud the medical teams, blood donors, and volunteers who work tirelessly to help their fellow citizens. We feel angry at those who planned and carried out these attacks. We feel scared. We feel vulnerable.
Where do we turn at such a time? We must turn to God. The Bible says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever—present help in trouble“ (Psalm 46:1). In such terrible trouble, only God can help us. Where else can we turn? Only God holds the souls of our dead. Only God can strengthen the living. Only God can comfort us. Only God can heal our wounds. Only God can protect us. When everything else is crumbling and collapsing, God’s power remains. In Psalm 46 the Bible says,
Even when everything else is shaken, God stands firm. When we don’t know what to say, when we’re at a loss for words, we simply need to be quiet, to be still and know that God is God.
When something so awful happens, we have questions that we want to ask God. We want to ask why such terrible things happen. We want to ask why God didn’t prevent such horror and heartbreak. It’s not wrong to ask such questions, but at times like this, we need to lay those questions aside, at least for awhile. First we need to be still. We need to quiet our questions and still our souls before God.
Be Still And Know
In stillness before God, we find the only place to bring our broken hearts. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit“ (Psalm 34:18). “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds“ (Psalm 147:3). “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling“ (Psalm 68:5). In stillness before God, we pour out our tears and seek the help of the only one who can mend broken hearts and brings his love to bear on shattered lives.
In stillness before God, we face the future. We seek his comfort, healing, and strength. We seek his wisdom for ourselves and especially for our leaders. We seek his calm to preserve us from panic. We seek his justice to deal with those responsible for these horrors. We seek his love to keep us from sinking into the kind of hate that inspired such attacks in the first place.
In stillness before God, we also find the only place of stability and security. Nothing else can help us. We can’t trust in our military power. Even the Pentagon, the command center of the world’s most powerful military, could not protect itself. We can’t trust in money or economic clout. Even the World Trade Center, the hub of economic power on our planet, could not protect itself. When we saw the twin towers collapse, we knew economic power could not save us. When we saw the Pentagon in flames, we knew military power could not protect us. We need a power greater than money, greater than guns and bombs, greater than anything humans can do. We need God. We need to be humbled and awed before him.
In stillness before God, we find what really matters. Much of the time our lives are noisy and full of various things, but tragedy forces us to our knees in God’s presence. When things are in chaos, when death strikes in such a terrible way, we are stunned. Things that fill much of our time suddenly don’t matter much. Sports don’t mean much; the games eventually resume, but we’ve got more important things to think about. Money doesn’t mean much; we go back to work and try to carry on business as usual, but money seems minor compared to life—and—death issues. In the face of death, it’s hard not to think of eternity. Almost all of us are thinking about life and death, the destiny of our world, and the plans of God.
In stillness before God, we find that the city of God is the only city that lasts forever. New York City and Washington D.C. are great cities. More human power is concentrated in these two cities than in any other cities on earth. But today we think not so much of the greatness and power of New York and Washington as we think of their weakness. We think not of powerful politicians and business leaders but of dead, wounded, and grieving people. No city of man is invulnerable and everlasting. Only the city of God stands firm forever.
In stillness before God, we find that he is our only reliable refuge and strength in times of trouble. When the earth gives way, when skyscrapers collapse, when military headquarters are in flames, when nations are in uproar, we realize that nothing human is stable and certain. But the Lord Almighty is the fortress of his people. He is our help in ages past and our hope for years to come.
Faith, Not Fear
We ask God to be our guard while troubles last, and our eternal home. The Lord Jesus Christ knows better than anyone that this is a sinful, broken world, full of hate, violence, anguish, and fear. He himself died in a terrible and cruel way, but he overcame death by rising again. Who better to speak to us in tragedy and turmoil than the Savior who endured it himself and then overcame death? Jesus calls us to live by faith, not fear.
Some newspapers reporting the tragedy carried headlines such as “Apocalypse“ and “Is This the End of the World?“ But in the Bible Jesus says, “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet“ (Matthew 24:6). Jesus knows that frightened people are miserable and gullible. Rumors fly all over the place. It’s hard to stay calm and think clearly. Amid such turmoil, we pray that political and military leaders will make decisions based on wisdom, not emotion. As we pray for leaders and for those directly affected by tragedy, we also pray that the rest of us will keep our heads. We must be still in God’s presence and focus on his love and truth. There are many things we don’t understand, but this much is sure: Jesus loves his people very much. He doesn’t want us to panic. He doesn’t want us filled with fear.
Some people who are quick to see any major catastrophe as a sign that the end of the world is near. But Jesus says that even when such things happen, it’s not the end. The timing of the world’s end is not determined by terrorists or wars or famines or economic meltdowns. God alone determines when the end will come. And God’s timetable moves according the spread of his gospel, not according to political events and national disasters.
In Jesus’ words, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come“ (Matthew 24:14). God plans that people from every nation on earth will hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ. The spread of the gospel is more important than anything else that happens in the world. The gospel of love, not any explosion of hate, determines God’s calendar. This world will end only when the gospel reaches every corner of the earth and Jesus himself comes again to bring his new creation.
Jesus says that terrible things must happen in a wicked world, but he tells his people not to be alarmed. How can he say that? When people are dying, when governments are shaken, when the world is in turmoil, when our sense of security has been shattered, how can we not be alarmed? I obviously don’t have the answer, but Jesus does. He makes it possible to feel secure about our own personal destiny and the destiny of the world at large.
Jesus says that not even a sparrow can fall to the ground apart from God’s will. Notice, though, that Jesus doesn’t say that sparrows never fall, and he doesn’t say that his people will never suffer or die. God is in control and cares for those who trust him, but he doesn’t always shield us from the pain and anguish of our sinful, broken world. Jesus had to suffer, and a servant is not greater than the Master. We will suffer too. But with Jesus at our side, we can face the uncertain future with courage and calm. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world“ (John 16:33). Jesus doesn’t say nothing bad will happen to us. But he says he will help us overcome the horrors.
How can followers of Jesus remain calm in crisis? Our bodies and our eternal souls are ultimately in the hands of our loving Father. In times of physical danger and suffering, we realize that the soul is even more important than the body. Our only comfort in body and soul, in life and in death, is that we belong to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.
Searching Our Hearts
Many, many people died suddenly and tragically in the terrible events that have shaken the United States and the world. Even as we grieve for them, even as we long for justice, even as we feel our sense of security shattered, we must ask about our relationship with God.
Churches are more crowded than usual in times of national crisis. Government officials and military leaders talk about the need for prayer. The leaders of Congress sang “God Bless America.“ Even news reporters have been talking about prayer much more than they usually do. It’s good that so many people look to God in times of trouble. But our nation must search its own heart about the many ways we ignore God in good times. We ban the Lord and the Bible from our schools and much of our public life, then cry out for his help and protection when disaster strikes. We must confess our sins as a nation and plead for God’s mercy.
Each of us must also examine our own individual relationship to God. Are you ready to meet God? None of the people who died in the terrorist attacks was planning to die when they got up that morning. They were planning on another busy, active day. But in an instant, their life on earth ended. Now they are in eternity. Their destiny is in God’s hands. What if it had been you who died? Would you have been ready to enter eternity? Would you have been ready to stand before God? You don’t know when your moment will come, and neither do I, but one thing is sure: that moment must come for each of us. For some it comes very suddenly, without warning. That means we must be ready at all times.
When calamity strikes and throws the world into turmoil, the Lord says, “Be still and know that I am God.“ In stillness before God, we must accept the fact that nothing in this world lasts forever, and we must examine our own souls in God’s presence. Are you ready to meet God?
Jesus says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved“ (John 10:9). Jesus is the only gate into eternal life. He is the door to heaven. Jesus lived a perfect life that will be credited to you if you believe in him. Jesus died a terrible death to pay for your sins and save you from hell. He says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep“ (John 10:11). If you trust Jesus as your good shepherd, you are ready to meet God. He will walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death, and you don’t have to fear any evil. But if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you’re not ready to die. Seek the Lord without delay. Be still and know that he is God. Repent of your sins and put your faith in him.
Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies“ (John 11:25). All the dead who die in Christ will live with him forever. Jesus rose from the dead, and he gives life to his people who have died. He has prepared a wonderful home in heaven for them, and a day is coming when he returns to earth. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain“ (Revelation 21:4). Jesus will bring the city of God, the New Jerusalem, to earth with him, and make a new heaven and a new earth. Every country on earth, every city on earth, no matter how great and powerful, is vulnerable to destruction and death. But the city of God stands forever. No matter how much we suffer and grieve, that eternal city, the New Jerusalem, is the hope and joy of every Christian.
David Feddes
Dr. David Feddes is pastor of Family of Faith Church and provost of Christian Leaders Institute, which supports mentor-based ministry training through online courses. David is also adjunct missiologist for Crossroad Bible Institute, which provides biblical distance education to more than 40,000 people in prison. Previously he served as broadcast minister for the Back to God radio program, reaching people in more than fifty countries. David earned his Ph.D. in intercultural studies from Trinity International University, Deerfield, IL and is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Wendy, have nine children (one in heaven).
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