Remembering Ground Zero*

Today is a day of remembrance and reflection for our country.  A time to remember lives lost, sacrifices made, and a war begun.   Fifteen years ago, terror struck America as three hijacked planes hurled into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  The attackers’ objective:  terrorize the most powerful nation in the world and bring fear and devastation.  They accomplished their mission and ignited the War on Terror.  Since that fateful day in 2001, there have been many other terrorist attacks in America and around the world where innocent people have lost their lives and military personnel have sacrificed theirs.

​According to modern history, this battle against extremists started when President Bush declared war on terrorism; however, the truth is that the struggle to maintain peace against conflict and strife has been going on since mankind’s fall.
 
When Adam and Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered into the world and with it strife, destruction, and death.  By breaking the one and only commandment given them, Adam and Eve fell from God’s perfect glory and gave Satan a foothold in this formerly flawless world, and since then, there has been a constant battle between good and evil, right and wrong, warfare and peace, terror and trust, followers of darkness and children of light.  It is an ongoing war both on the individual and global level.  Though it may look different in each generation, the battle still rages and will continue to do so until this world is destroyed and the new one is created.
 
Consequently, while this generation did not experience either of the World Wars, we are living in the wake of one of the greatest national tragedies in American history.  The hijackers of September 11th were successful in impacting an entire nation because they chose key targets:  the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Why were these two sites so crucial?  The Pentagon is the center of American defense, the emblem of U.S. military might, and an invaluable piece in our nation’s armor, while the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are symbolic of American economic success and international power.  So by destroying these two icons of national pride and killing many of the thousands of people who worked at these locations, all of America was impacted.
 
Likewise, Satan—the ultimate Terrorist—seeks to destroy the hope and spiritual life of our souls. And just like the terrorists of 9/11, he goes about his mission by targeting important and influential aspects of our lives, whether it be our health, finances, walk with God, family, friends, etc.  However, unlike the victims of September 11th, we have a choice in how Satan’s attacks affect us.  We can choose to allow him to bring fear and devastation into our life, or we can choose to trust and rely on God and believe His promise to work all things together for our good.
 
I hope that you will join me in choosing to say with the psalmist:

“I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
~Psalm 91:2​

Some days, though, we make the wrong decision and the Great Terrorist’s assaults wreak havoc and destruction to our lives.   When this happens, take heart and remember that just as the Pentagon is restored and a new set of towers now rise from the ruins of Ground Zero, so also our lives can be rebuilt by the Lord Almighty.  Praise the Lord!
 
 So if you have a Ground Zero in your life, allow the Master Builder into your heart and let Him do the difficult and sometimes painful work that needs to be done in order to restore and make new.  And let us all remember that

“He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.  You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
~Psalms 91:4-6

*This is a re-post from last year originally titled "Let Us Remember"

---

Author's Note:
I would like to thank all those who have and are currently serving in the military and giving of themselves to protect and preserve the freedoms we enjoy and so often take for granted.  May God richly bless you and make Himself known to you, so that you may be victorious in both the struggle overseas and the one within the heart!