Dialing "9-11" Or "G-O-D"?

"Today's Devotion" For September 11, 2006

Read: Psalm 18:1-30; II Corinthians 1:1-11

DIALING "9-11" OR "G-O-D"

"I have told you these things so you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

It was a Tuesday morning. The sun was shining. I had just returned home from dropping our three youngest children off at school. As I was driving home I turned on the radio and there was news that a plane crash had occurred in New York City. The announcer sounded quite frantic so as soon as I got home I turned on the television - just in time to see a second plane strike the second tower of the World Trade Center. As the coverage continued the horror of the event began to sink in. Someone had done this deliberately - someone had, with sinister intentions, attacked occupied buildings with the intention of causing death and destruction on a scale not seen in the United States. That reality was driven home a short time later when news came that a third plane had crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth had nosedived into a Pennsylvania field.

The lives of hundreds of millions of people were changed in less than an hour. Our son, Matthew, had just begun his first semester at the United States Naval Academy. The next year and a half were quite problematic for him. He couldn't stay focused on his studies - the events of "9-11" played on his heart and soul. Eventually he left the Academy and joined the Marine Corps. In a few weeks, God willing, he will return to the States after a second tour of duty in Iraq. This is but one example of the effect that day in 2001 had on people who were not the immediate victims of the attack.

For the past 5-years the world has been engaged in a new kind of warfare. Some have called it a war for civilization. Others have called it unnecessary and immoral - attacking not the perpetrators of the attacks, but those who have taken action against them. The nation, today, stands in turmoil. It's a nation divided against itself, and, as Jesus notes, "a house divided against itself cannot stand" (Mark 3:25). I've always thought it was quite ironic that the date of the attack, "9-11," is the same set of numbers we use to call for help in time of emergency. As a people and nation we are in an emergency situation as we speak, both as a "house divided against itself" and a people who are facing an enemy unlike any ever seen before in the history of the world. We are in need of an emergency "hotline" beyond the ability of "911" responders. We really need to dial "G - O - D."

Both David and Paul are reminding us that God is our deliverer, our Savior, from every harm and danger that can come our way. Our enemies may try to hurt us, exploit us, and destroy us, but they can't keep us from His love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness in Jesus. We may be in a struggle for the "survival of civilization," but only God has the power to accomplish the victory over Sin and every evil which is at the heart of the conflict facing the world. today. While the enemy, from a human standpoint, may be unique in the annals of history, the face of the enemy is known to God from eternity. That enemy has been defeated, and although we're still engaged in skirmishes with him, skirmishes that threaten body, soul, and spirit, he has been overcome by our Lord Jesus Christ in His suffering, death, and resurrection.

No one and nothing can separate us from God's love for us in Jesus Christ. Every evil we face in the world has been overcome by Jesus. While it may be true that such evil affects people all over the world, the redeemed child of God in Jesus Christ has the confidence of faith in Jesus that such evil cannot keep us from our final destination in Jesus - Heaven. We have a greater resource for our safety and deliverance than dialing "9-11," for we have been blessed to call upon the name of the Lord and are blessed to know the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

Prayer: Father, "9-11" will live as a day of infamy in the annals of the United States of America as well as in the history books of many other nations in the world. In some parts of the world the history books that day will stand as a "glorious" landmark to the beginning of the destruction of "civilization" as we know it - a civilization that has its beginning, middle, and end in Your grace, mercy, and love, even though there are many who ignore You. Father, forgive me for the times I forget that You are in charge of the entire world - that there's nothing that happens that You don't know about - and that You will keep me safe and secure from every attempt of evil to take me away from You. Let my life be filled with peace and joy, courage and commitment so that I may be a living witness to Your love, and a vocal ambassador of Your Word of salvation in Christ Jesus and Your forgiveness of sins in Him. In His precious and most holy name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright © 2006 The Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.