A Time for Peace

Our lives are shaken. Up until September 11, evil of this magnitude was impossible to think about. The idea that it could happen here seemed ridiculous. But now here we are.
It happened almost two weeks ago, but it hurts as if it was yesterday. We are shaken by the thought of how easily it could have been any one of us, guilt-ridden by the relief we feel to be alive. We feel violated and displaced, confused and cheated. Our peaceful world and our peace of mind have been violently taken from us.

There’s a line in a poem by Emily Dickinson that describes the process of grieving as, “first – Chill– then Stupor – then the letting go–.� We’ve felt the chill, watching in horror as planes and buildings fell. We’ve felt stupor, many of us sitting in front of television sets trying to convince ourselves that it really was happening. Now we face the hard part, “the letting go.� This is the part that requires us to take action, to pick up the pieces and try to get ‘back to normal’.

For many of us, ‘normal’ is a long way off.

The wounds of lost loved ones and shattered cities will not heal quickly, but in the mean time, there is still the business of living to get back to. Someone has to feed the kids. Someone has to let the dog out. Someone has to go work and keep this country functioning. We ache, but it has to be done. We don’t know who to talk to, but we have to keep trying. We have to make this work or whoever did this terrible thing has already won.

When there’s no one to talk to, we can pray. When we don’t know what to do next, we can pray. The President and countless others have urged Americans to pray. What good will come form praying? Why talk to Jesus? Because he understands suffering – not in some distant cosmic way, but in the flesh. He suffered greatly during his time on earth. He was innocent and died a cruel and horrible death. You can talk to him because he cares about you and knows what you are going through. The Bible describes him as a ‘man of sorrows acquainted with grief’ (Isaiah 53:3). He knew fear and anxiety, physical suffering, hunger, cold, and sadness. He wept. He even questioned God.

We have a lot of questions.

Why did this happen? Why did one person escape the falling building and another die trying to help? Why is there evil in the world? Where was God on September 11? We need answers and we need an opportunity to ask these questions. God is not threatened by our questions. The Bible is full of people of faith questioning God, and God answered them.

Habakkuk, one of the books of the old testament recounts one man’s challenge to God. Habakkuk saw the world around him and asked God “how long shall I cry and you will not hear?� (Hbk 1:2) He went on to ask “why do you look on those who deal treacherously, and hold your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he?� (Hbk 1:13) Sound familiar? How many times have we asked the same questions over the past weeks?

God does answer Habakkuk. He tells him that in a world that doesn’t always make sense to us “the just shall live by faith� (Hbk 2:4). What does that mean? Faith is believing that God is big enough to bring some good out of what happened in New York and Washington and Pennsylvania. Living by faith means waking up in the morning and saying “God, I have no idea what you are doing. The world is a mess and it hurts. But I know you are there and you say that you love me so I am going to get out of bed this morning and see if today is the day that you make things right.�

It is far too easy just to say “God loves you and everything is going to be okay.�

God does love you, very, very much, but there are things that have happened that are not going to be okay. There are countless families grieving for lost loved ones, and nothing can bring them back, there are rescue workers who have seen horrible things; however, there will be laughter again, someday. There will be a reason to smile and a reason to celebrate. God is in control so even in the middle of all of this there is a reason to hope. There is a reason to believe that there will come a day when the ache hurts a little less than it does today.

Why didn’t God stop this? I can’t answer that, but I know this – God is very real. He loves us very much and the events of September 11 broke his heart. When God created the world it was perfect and beautiful. He created man and woman and gave them free will. Our choices brought sin into the world. The perfect world he created was ruined, but God didn’t abandon us to our choices. He sent redemption in the form of his Son. He sent a savior to bring us hope.

There is reason to hope, even in a day like today, after a week like the one we just lived through. The Bible tells us that God promises he will never leave us (Heb 13:5). He can make something beautiful out of ugly circumstances. He can bring good out of what others meant for evil (Gen 50:20). He still offers hope and peace to each of us today.

You can know peace.

There is a line in an old hymn that says “Let there be peace in the world and let it begin with me.� It can begin with you right now. John 3:16 tells us that God loves the world so much that He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for us so that everyone who believes in Him can have everlasting life.

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Further Reading:
Fear and its remedies
Can a good God allow evil?