Mike Gilland
We’ve just crossed a major milestone in our current American history. It has now been 20 years since that fateful Tuesday morning in 2001, when Americans came face-to-face with terrorism right here in our home nation.
The images of horror that we all saw, now identified with the moniker “9/11,” were permanently etched in our minds. It was truly a day of the unthinkable, when huge passenger airplanes became weapons of destruction in the hands of evil people, while millions watched on TV in real time.
This isn’t the kind of anniversary that we celebrate…but most certainly, it is the kind that must be remembered. Sadly, and in the words of Rev. Al Mohler, the lessons learned from that day have already been largely lost by so many. May that not be true with us.
On that day in 2001, I got into my office in Orlando just after 8:30 a.m., and I was due to meet an IT specialist to work on our internet network system. He was upset when he arrived, saying that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center and that the building was on fire.
We ultimately moved to an office that had a TV and watched with horror as a second plane hit the second tower. My guest was so shaken that no work was done that day, and he canceled his next appointment too—happened to be in the 30-plus story building known as the SunTrust Tower in downtown Orlando.
As our IT specialist left our office, I was left with the same kinds of thoughts and feelings that you might have had. I questioned what might come next, and I thought of the military response that could be needed. And, I wondered if my then 18-year-old son would be drafted? These are the kind of questions that bring uncertainty and fear.
Thankfully, even before day’s end, I found peace and trust within the words of Scripture. Psalm 40 is one of my all-time favorite passages. Ponder these words:
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. ~ Psalm 40:1-3a
Now, 20 years later, we are still facing uncertain times. But one thing has not changed, even with the political upheavals all around us. And that is this: the Lord is still God.
I pray that the truth found in Psalm 40 will bring peace and comfort to your soul, as it has already to mine.