It was a Tuesday evening almost ten years ago. The people filing into our church’s sanctuary were hushed and quiet. It was as if they had silently decided that happy chatter was not appropriate for this moment. Virtually the only words being shared were those projected onto the front wall of the sanctuary, words from Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
It was September 11, 2001. That morning terrorists had flown two planes into the twin towers in New York City, another one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and yet another, diverted from its target by brave passengers, onto a field in Pennsylvania.
Though the earth hadn’t given way and the mountains hadn’t fallen into the sea, many in the free world felt as if the world as they knew it had been turned upside-down.
Scores of churches, including ours, opened their doors and gathered in people from their communities. They became a refuge for anxious people. They pointed people to the God whose rivers of grace and provision make glad all who trust in him. They testified to the greatness of God, our “ever-present help in trouble.” They did what the church is supposed to do, proclaiming God’s favorite command to the frightened: “Do not fear.”
May it be, sovereign God, that in all nations of the world the church of Jesus Christ proclaims this truth with confidence: The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Amen.
About the author — David Den Haan
Pastor Dave Den Haan has served at Fairway Christian Reformed Church in Jenison, Michigan, since 1999. Previously he served a church in Minnesota. Dave and his wife, Connie, have three children.
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