When the events of this week began to unfold, we were all in shock. We didn’t know what to think. Was this an accident, or was it something planned? But when the second plane slammed into the World Trade Center building there was little doubt that terrorism was involved. Then when the Pentagon was hit, it began to dawn us that we were under attack. The White House and Air Force One were also planned targets. President Bush has declared these senseless acts of violence “acts of war.” It is the worst attack on our country in its history.
This week was like living out a scene in Dante’s Inferno. In the beginning there was shock and horror, but it seemed surreal. It was like watching a movie with special effects. It didn’t seem real, because things like this don’t happen here. This is the United States. This may happen in Israel and other places, but not here. Then as live reports from ground zero came in and we saw the devastation, the reality of it all began to sink in. People everywhere began to panic. Traffic lined the streets trying to buy gas at any price. Stores were crammed with people stockpiling groceries and supplies. Terrorism’s purpose is to create terror, and it did so in the hearts of many.
On Wednesday morning, President Bush, surrounded by the National Security Team in the Cabinet room, told the American people: “We are facing a different enemy than we have ever faced.” How true that is. During World War I and II, we knew who the enemy was and where they were. We met each other on the battle field using weapons of war against the military of other nations.
Then came the Cold War. There was a change in the way war was carried out, as nations who had once been allies armed themselves with nuclear weapons of mass destruction and pointed them at each other. We heard terms like “Assured Mutual Destruction.” Bomb shelters were built, and people stockpiled food and equipment in the event that such an attack would take place.
Then the Vietnam War came, and we were engaged with an enemy that was often indistinguishable from civilians. We were on the enemy’s home turf, mostly fighting jungle skirmishes, rather than the large battles to which we were accustomed.
The Persian Gulf War seemed almost sterile as high tech missiles slammed our enemies from a distance, and our military personnel were not as directly engaged as they had been in other wars. We felt more powerful and safer than ever before.
But now we are in a war with terrorism. This new enemy does not fight fair. They do not even have a country. Our military is not their target as much as innocent civilians. Civilization itself has come under attack. Military weapons were not even used, but men with box cutters commandeered our own civilian planes and turned them against us. As one official said, “Until now, we had no category of ‘enemy airliners.’” The enemy seems to be everywhere and nowhere. It is like trying to shoot a shadow. And worst of all, we are not fighting an enemy in another part of the world, the war is taking place on the shores of our own country. We have been invaded, and we feel vulnerable like we never knew we would. The demise of the victims makes shows like “Survivor” seem out of place. The concern is that we don’t know what is coming next. Will there be other acts of terrorism carried out on us? How long will the war last? Will it escalate and involve other nations? All of these questions create anxiety and angst.
How do we react to living in an unsafe world? What is our response as Christians? From where does our security come? We draw our strength from a different source than those who do not know God. As the Scripture says: “Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8). That is good, but what does it mean in practical terms? How does that play out in times like these? Our security in an unsafe world comes from several truths which the Scriptures teach us. The first truth we need to have planted deeply in our lives is this: Our security is in God, not in the things of this world. Every day, as I read the Scriptures in my morning devotions, I take one portion of what I have read and write it on a small card and place it in my pocket. I am reminded of its truth each time I touch it throughout the day. On Tuesday, I had read from 1 Timothy 1:1, and I wrote down four words from that verse which say, “Christ Jesus our hope.” I had no idea how much I would lean upon those words Tuesday, and the comfort they would bring. He is our hope — and nothing else. The Bible says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm” (Psalm 20:7-8). Our faith is not in our military power, our intelligence network, our economy and financial institutions, the power of our foreign alliances; our hope is in the Lord our God. The Bible says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
If there is anything good which can come of this horrific tragedy, it will be that these events may serve as a wake up call to America. God did not bring about these tragic events, but he does want to use them. We have wandered away from God. We have fostered violence in our movies, television and music. We have become obsessed with sensual lust. We have allowed greed to possess us. We have been willing to sacrifice human beings for stem cell research, and kill unborn children for the sake of convenience. It is ludicrous that we have heard some people this week screaming about the sanctity of human life and needless killing, when they have been the ones supporting the abortion industry in our land. We have grieved the heart of God and awakened his wrath. Did we really think we deserved his continued protection? These days should bring us to our knees in repentance and genuine sorrow for our sin as individuals and as a nation. We were gliding along thinking we could live any way we wished with no consequences.
Some of the headlines even talked of this being the end of the world. That thought has crossed the mind of many. This is not the end of the world, but God is giving us another chance to turn to him. This incident happened on the 9th month and the 11th day of the year. God was giving us his phone number: 911, and he is waiting to hear us call to him in this emergency for help. And if we call, he will respond. It is important for us to turn to him and place our trust in him rather than the present circumstances of the world. The Bible says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding” (Proverbs 9:10). When you have a proper fear of God, you begin to lose your fear of other things. When you are secure in God, you do not need the security of other things. We believe that God is still in control and seated firmly on the throne of the universe. The Bible says, “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20). That is why we can say: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea” (Psalm 46:1-2).
The second truth we need to have planted deeply in our lives is this: Our security is in our faith, not in our safety. Security is not about safety. It is about faith and courage. There are those in our culture who live in great safety and prosperity, yet their lives are consumed with worry and fear. On the other hand, there are those in the world who live in very difficult and dangerous places who have security, because they are full of faith and hope. We want to be safe, but it is more important for us to be secure in our faith and find our courage in God. The Bible says, “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever” (Psalm 125:1). Security is not the absence of trouble, but confidence and courage in the midst of trouble that comes from our faith.
We know that, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands” (Acts 17:24). He is everywhere, for he has said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). It is this faith that gives us the courage to say, we “will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day” (Psalm 91:5).
Our confidence cannot be shaken, because we have a God who is in complete control of the universe. The earth may crumble and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, but we know that God is unchanged, and his love will see us through. We say, “I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken” (Psalm 16:8). We say with the Psalmist, “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2).
We have courage because God has 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). We are secure in an unsafe world because the Bible says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our ‘God is a consuming fire’” (Hebrews 12:28-29). We have courage, not because we are strong, but because we have a God who is powerful beyond words and rules over all.
The third truth we need to have planted deeply in our lives is this: Our security is in eternity, not in the present circumstances. If you are looking only at the present circumstances of life you will be shaken, but if your life is grounded in eternity you will stand firm. As Christians, our lives have an eternal dimension. We know that nothing that happens here can harm or change the things that matter to us most: Our relationship with God, our home in heaven, the presence of our loved ones and friends who have known Christ and lived for him. Nothing can change those things. No one can take them away. The Bible tells us, “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1).
When we are grounded in eternity our lives are built on a foundation that cannot be shaken. The Bible says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). God works in all the situations of our lives to bring about his good. He does not cause them, but he does use them. We understand that these terrorist attacks were not the will of God. Those who did these things went against his will. God had nothing to do with them, but God will use these things for his eternal purposes. Our confidence does not go up and down with the stock market. Our security is not in how good the news is on television. Our confidence is not shaken even though the earth burns and its smoke rises. For the Lord says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).
Finally, let me say, the fourth truth we need to have planted deeply in our lives is this: Our security is in the fact that even though life is dangerous, life is good. One of the rescue workers was shown on television shaking his head as he repeated the words: “The world is evil. The world is evil.” As Christians, we understand that there is evil in the world. But we also know that God is in the world. And we have read the last book of the Bible, and we know that God will judge the evil of the world. Good will triumph over evil; truth will be victorious over the lie, and love will win out over hate. God wins.
As President Bush spoke at the National Cathedral on Friday, he said, “This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance, and love have no end. And the Lord of life holds all who die, and all who mourn.”
There are no guarantees in this life for any of us. We are not safe, but we are loved — and that is our security. Frederick Buechner has written these words as though God were speaking to us: “You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever separate us. It’s for you I created the universe.” Life is not safe, but life is good. Life is good, because God is good. We can turn to him. He is with us. No matter where the journey takes us, he takes our hand and walks beside us. There is no better news. There is no greater security.
The New Living Bible puts it this way: “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? . . .No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).
Rodney J. Buchanan
September 16, 2001 - (The Sunday after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.)
Mulberry Street UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
FEELING GOOD ABOUT LIFE:
FINDING SECURITY IN AN UNSAFE WORLD
Psalm 46
“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
Our security is in ________________, not the things ___________________________________.
Our security is in our _____________________ , not in our _____________________ .
Our security is in ____________________, not in __________________________________ .
Our security is in the fact that even though life _______________________________ , life ________________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Sept 16, 2001)
1. What were your first feelings when you heard and saw what was happening on Tuesday? How did those feelings progress?
2. What are the things on which most people base their security? Are Christians different?
3. What is the Christian view of life, and how is it different from those who do not know God?
4. Read Psalm 20:7-8. What is the basis of hope that Christians have?
5. How do people live who have no hope? How do they try to cope?
6. How do you personally cope with the realization that the world is not safe?
7. Read John 16:33. Exactly what has Jesus promised here?
8. Read Hebrews 12:28-29. What does this mean for you?
9. Read 2 Corinthians 5:1. How does the belief in heaven fit into our security system.
10. Read Romans 8:28. What are some ways that God may use these tragic events?
11. Read Romans 8:35-39 (preferably in the New Living translation). What confidence does this give you and why?
