It was a Tuesday morning, and I was in the family room of my childhood home here in the US with a few other kids who were in our homeschool group. We had just finished settling in for the day, and began preparing to start our Bible class when my mom got a phone call. It was my dad, and he told her to turn the TV on.
The North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City had just been struck. Normally talkative and energetic 8th graders, we sat silently on the floor in front of the TV with our legs crossed… entirely aware that what we were seeing was not ‘only’ a plane crash. It was more than that.
As we sat there quietly, listening to the reporters trying to make sense of things… it happened. We saw a plane come across the screen, and I remember feeling “Oh no!” come out of me as it crashed into the South Tower.
My mom pulled us together and we began praying…. and then the news of the Pentagon being hit was aired. As we are taking in the speculation and limited information the media was sharing at the time, the South Tower collapsed. And then the North.
We were silent, tears streaming down our faces.
My mom gathered us around and said, “This is worth our tears. But it is not worth our fear.” And she pointed us to Psalm 37:7 –
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
I’ve never forgotten that moment, and it is always brought to my memory every anniversary of this tragic day. The devastation was real, the loss significant, and the pain deep for each and every person who lost a loved one that day.
Our team here at INCM remembers, and we are asking God this very morning for His presence and provision in their lives today. We encourage each of you to do the same.
Friend, as we remember today, I also wonder what it would look like for you to be still before the Lord this morning, and wait patiently for Him to act in the face of the trouble you may be encountering this week?
What does it look like to make room for His justice and His ways when it feels like things are going wrong? Do not fret. Do not spin or be overcome by it… you need only be still.
This may be worth your tears, but it is not worth your fear. He is good in the midst of this.
