Remembering 9/11

Occasionally, I like to open one of  Wayne’s sermon notebooks and read through a sermon or two. Today, I remembered he’d preached a sermon about 9/11 and looked it up. His three points were:

1. Remembering 9/11

2. A personal 9/11

3. God’s 9/11.

He said, “We remember shock and outrage at the terrorism, pride in the heroism, and a sudden, sickening uncertainty. We realized that we love our country—and we stand together to guarantee its freedoms to our children.”

The students at the school where I subbed today were not even born when this happened. Most of them do not understand all the sacrifices made by our military and others to fight against terrorism.  I still grieve for our country’s loss that day, but so many citizens have also been lost in the wars since then.  It makes me sad to see our Nation so divided politically.  We must stand strong as a Nation and recognize God as the Sovereign Ruler of all.

Through National tragedy or personal tragedy God is still in control and cares for us. Wayne mentioned in his sermon the song by Bob Ponchot, God Still Cares. A line from that song says, “But there’s hope in a God Who cares.” Praise Him, for our hope!

Wayne’s last point was that God also had a 9/11—the day His Son was crucified! God’s Son died to rescue us—an even greater rescue than all those heroes who attempted to rescue victims of 9/11. Some of those heroes died trying to save others. One of those heroes was Todd Beamer. His wife, Lisa Beamer, said in her book, Let’s Roll, “The only true security in this life comes from placing our trust in God Who loves us and is in complete control of the events of our lives and our world.”

Some days are discouraging, sometimes we’re fearful and uncertain, some days are downright dreadful and tragic, but through it all our hope is in God.

The prophet Habakkuk said it this way. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).

Oh, that I could trust God like Habakkuk!  Wayne closed his sermon with these encouraging words from the Apostle Paul. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).