Reflections

 23Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?

 24″Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it?

 25″Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

 26So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”

 32Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” Genesis 18: 23-26, 32

On September 11, 2001, the United States experienced one of the worst terrorist acts in history.  Thousands of people lost their lives that day and many continue as we have been fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  It’s hard to believe it has been nine years and we are still fighting an enemy that wants to see us destroyed.

When a tragic event like 9/11 takes place the inevitable question is “Why God?”  The mistake many of us make in explaining God’s role is we try to justify what took place.  There were some who said that God was judging the United States and He was not happy with what we are doing in regards to sin.  Those few believed God was passing judgment and even our enemy believed they were doing the right thing by “judging” the USA through acts of terrorism.

I was on a plane at the time the terrorist attacks took place on 9/11.  I was on an airport runway in Pittsburgh waiting for our plane to take off.  We were told to return to the gate and learned when we got off that the FAA had ordered all planes to land and all airports to shutdown.  I was in complete disbelief at the events that began to unfold in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.  As the day progressed I began to see God at work. 

As I heard of the reports of survivors and that this could have been so much worse I began to thank God.  So many people were able to get out of the Twin Towers before they fell and their lives were spared.  The planes were not full to capacity and one of the planes did not reach its target in Washington, D.C.  Instead of seeing God’s judgment, God’s mercy and love were at play.

I know many people died on 9/11 but let us remember it is because of our enemy not God’s divine judgment.  Let’s praise God for the many lives that were saved and the fact that God continues to protect this nation.  I believe it is because of the righteous that this nation is blessed and protected by God.  I marvel at how we have not experienced far worse terrorist attacks in our nation.  It is not because we have such great security (security is still very lax), it is by God’s grace that we have been spared more attacks and innocent deaths.

Our enemy is very real but God is greater than our enemy.  As we reflect on this day let us give glory and honor to God for His mercy, love, and protection.  We are not destined for destruction, but we are destined to be blessed and be a blessing to so many other nations.  God is for us.  He watches over this nation and keeps us safe from our enemy.  We have peace knowing that we are one nation under God, even if only a few righteous are found.  For the righteous sake, God bless America!