Where Was God On Tuesday?
Nancy McGuirk
Bible Commentator
Read Nancy McGuirk's words to the Women of WCBS on Wednesday, Sept.19, WHERE
WAS GOD ON TUESDAY?
I am sure all of you, like me, sat in shock as you watched your televisions
last Tuesday!! Was this really happening or am I watching a terrible movie?
What a chilling moment to witness the greatest tragedy that ever hit this
country and took the presumed lives of over 3000 people....that's 3000 innocent
people like you and me who went to work that day never knowing that it was
their last.That's 3000 families affected, orphans with a missing parent...thats
over 3000 funerals! This attack at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon has
left all of us in shock and disbelief...the insanity behind these attacks
sacrificing the lives of the innocent passengers while flying these suicide
missions brings home the sobering reality of what incredible evil man is
capable of.
As we emerge from Tuesday, however...the heavens seem to open and God is at
work ....How many of you watched the National Prayer service with Billy Graham
on Friday? Look at how the world begins to change.....no sooner have we left
the greatest day of despair in our lives that we now face the greatest day of
hope. All men of power like former presidents of our country and heads of state
from other countries... people of different culture, background and religion
all come together to do one thing....look up to God... .as historic as the day
of tragedy was likewise, I found this service a most historic day of hope ..
And what a beautiful witness Billy Graham was for the Christian community as he
"spoke the truth in love" ..
It was as though the world stopped and God put His arms around us....Never
before have we seen our country so unified ....never have we seen such
patriotism or such heroism...or such volunteerism and look at how people wanted
to give of their time...their money... their blood and even their lives. Why
you would almost think we had turned into one big body of Christ!
The community of faith is being revitalized as we seek God in this
tragedy....but it's important to stay strong ...not just for ourselves...or for
our children...but for the unbelieving world around us. We have a great
opportunity right now. It' s important today and the weeks ahead in this bible
study to reflect on this event ...to be at peace with that which we don't
understand and to cling to that which we do ...in order to " be prepared to
share the hope that is within us."
Many, both inside and outside the family of faith, have asked
"where was God on
that Tuesday?" There are some things that God tells us in The Bible that we
know for sure and there are some things that we weren't meant to understand.
First of all ...God is sovereign. This event did not take Him by surprise. He
WAS there. But also God is a god of love...(we see that in Jesus Christ)...he
is not the author of suffering. God is good and He did not and does not cause
the evil we see....Because of His love, God gave man the gift of free
will...where man can choose good or evil. When man chooses evil, there is then
suffering in this world. And this grieves our Father.
So why did God not intervene? What do you say to the woman who screams "why
didn't God intervene to keep my innocent child from being killed beneath all
that rubble? I don't know.
I can't answer that question anymore than I can answer why God did not
intervene when His own son was dying on the cross. But I certainly can see the
good that came out of that. Just like I can see some of the good already coming
out of this horrible event.
So was God punishing our nation? Did He allow this to happen to get our
attention? I don't know that either. But, if you asked me, are we a nation that
needs to repent because we have not had God at the center of our lives? I would
say absolutely...and in that sense we have an opportunity to turn back to Him.
Some things we were not meant to understand. God says "my ways are not your
ways or my thoughts your thoughts...my ways are higher and my thoughts higher
too. In fact he also says.. you see dimly thru a mirror now,but one day you
will understand...In other words, God has a higher purpose in allowing this to
happen.
There are some things we DO understand...God loves us! He has a plan for us!
His desire is that none should perish but that all should come to know Him. He
wants us to trust Him....not to lean on our own understanding. God works all
things out for good to those who love him.. God is a god of compassion. He is
as broken hearted as he was when Lazarus died....just as he was broken over the
death of his son on the cross. God knows pain and suffering first hand.
The media says our lives may never be the same...I would like to think if
that's true, it's not because we now live out of
FEAR but that because we now
live by
FAITH. Faith in a loving God who is at work and has a plan.
So what can we do now? We can fight. Fight with the greatest weapon we have
!!..
PRAYER!!
Our lives should be one of prayer as never before...not just morning and night
but all day long. There is an urgency here!! We need not only to pray for our
nation's repentance and restoration, but for our President and the leaders of
this country. There are many different opinions in the Christian community on
how we should respond to this attack. All I know is Justice is God's and only
with God guiding our leadership will we respond properly. We don t want more
innocent lives lost in the process of justice.....big decisions are in place
now....with the potential of military action ...we need to pray for wisdom for
our President. We need to pray for the broken hearted families who have lost
loved ones or who have yet to find them. Pray that they know God's peace and
comfort as never before. We need to pray for our children that they will see a
country and parents whose lives are full of hope in a loving and just God.
There is something else we need to pray for that you dont want to hear, and I
dont want to say. We need to pray for our enemies, that they come to know our
God who is only known through Jesus Christ. And finally we need to pray for
ourselves...that God will work a miracle in our hearts....that in time, He
would remove this bitterness and anger inside and perform a miracle that only
Jesus could do while hanging on the cross when he said "Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do."
So where was God on Tuesday? The same place he was Monday and the same place He
is today. He is watching over each one of us and he is inside the hearts of all
those who believe in His Son. God loves us and desires the best for each of
us....to be like Him and to be with Him. This is not our home...for this world
is temporary. Our home is with Him. And any one of us could be called home...
today. But in the mean time, let's live for Christ and live with hope. And I
believe, that one day we will be able to look back at this horrible event and
say to these terrorists the same thing that Joseph of the Old Testament said to
his brothers who abandoned him.....
"what you meant for evil, God meant for
good."