“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…”
- Psalm 46:1-2 ESV
My dog parents were just young pups when September 11, 2001, happened.
So truth is, I don’t understand much about it. I don’t understand airplanes, terrorists, skyscrapers, or why my human became so quiet watching that little television box.
But I understand something else.
I understand that my human was hurting.
Twenty-five years later, I’ve watched him sit on this porch with his Bible in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He still remembers.
He remembers where he was.
He remembers the pictures.
He remembers the people who ran toward danger while everybody else was running away.
And every September, he gets a little quieter.
I’ve learned something about humans. Sometimes we remember what we promised we’d never forget… then slowly forget what we promised to remember.
After 9/11, people prayed.
Churches filled up.
Neighbors checked on neighbors.
Flags flew.
We seemed to understand that life was fragile, evil was real, and tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed.
For a little while, anyway.
Then life got busy again.
Maybe that’s what we need to remember.
The greatest lesson of September 11 wasn’t simply that evil exists. Scripture already told us that.
It was that when the world shakes, we need Someone who doesn’t.
Psalm 46 doesn’t say trouble won’t come. It says God is our refuge when it does.
That’s different.
Watching my human read his Bible, I sometimes wonder if we’ve forgotten that.
Have we become so comfortable that we’ve forgotten our need for God?
Have we become so distracted that prayer becomes something we do when things go wrong instead of a part of walking with God every day?
Have we remembered the date but forgotten the lesson?
I’ve got a pretty simple faith.
When my human gets up, I follow him.
When he sits down, I sit beside him.
When he reaches for the leash, I’m ready.
Maybe there’s something there for us.
Faith isn’t just remembering what God did yesterday.
Faith is trusting Him today.
Jesus didn’t come simply to make us feel safer in a dangerous world. He came to save us from our sin and reconcile us to God.
So maybe 25 years after 9/11, the question isn’t just, “Do you remember?”
Maybe it’s, “What are you doing with what you remember?”
Life is still fragile.
Evil is still real.
Tomorrow is still uncertain.
But Jesus is still Lord.
So today, I think I’ll stay close to my human.
He has his Bible.
He has his coffee.
And I have my spot beside his chair.
Come to think of it, that’s not a bad picture of faith.
Stay close to the One who never leaves.
And when the world shakes, remember where your refuge is.
Lord, help me not only remember what You have taught me, but live it. Forgive me when comfort replaces dependence and busyness replaces prayer. When life shakes, turn my heart toward Jesus—the One who is still my refuge, my strength, and my salvation. Amen.
Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem
