Never Forget – A Personal Remembrance
On September 11, 2001, I was sitting in a basement level barbershop on the square in Ripley, TN, when I saw the second plane hit the tower. I had been pastoring for less than a month, and now my new community was suddenly searching for answers in one of the most challenging moments in the history of our nation. In Ripley, our Sunday morning worship service was carried live each week on the local AM radio station. So, when the planes flew into the World Trade Center, they called the church to see if I could come down to the station along with my Associate Pastor to read Scripture and pray.
I remember sitting down in the small enclosed studio. I had just a couple of minutes to gather my thoughts and compose myself. As the microphone light turned on, and the producer pointed in my direction, I began to read Psalm 46:
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,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
As I read the words of the psalm I had seen many times before, their relevance began to jump off the page. I had just witnessed two massive buildings collapse upon themselves with thousands of people inside. At that moment as the earth was giving way and the “mountains” were falling, I desperately needed the God who is our refuge and strength. As a nation, we desperately needed the God who is our refuge and strength – an ever-present help in trouble.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Even in the darkest of days – when nations are in an uproar and kingdoms are falling. When gunshots are ringing, and bombs are exploding. When innocents are killed, and loved ones are lost. We have a God who will protect us. The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. God, who spoke the world into existence and forever reigns over all of creation, is firmly on the side of His children. We do not despair in moments of chaos because we know the One who is in control.
Come and see what the Lord has done,
the desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease
to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. (NIV)
Today as we remember the tragedy of that day, I am transported for a moment back to the radio station in Ripley. On that day, as I read the final verses of Psalm 46, I could feel the hope beginning to swell in my soul. My voice began to rise as I proclaimed the inevitable victory of our God over the evil of this world. He makes wars cease. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He will stop all terrorists and defuse all bombs. He will cure mental illness and end all hatred. He will be exalted. He will reign. His kingdom shall come, and it shall be on earth just as it is in Heaven.
The end of Psalm 46 reminds us that things will not always be as they currently are. A day is coming when the normalcy of our day will not be broken by another awful news alert that leads to another “I will never forget” moment. Until that day, we hold firmly to the conviction that the Lord Almighty is with us. Even on days of a tragedy, we confess that the God of Jacob is our fortress.
And we expectantly proclaim – “Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”