By Bindu Adai Mathew

I remember watching in horror as the World Trade Towers crumbled into a heap of metal and dust in 2001. I drove to work in a daze and just as I got there, news came of the Pentagon being hit and another plane crashing.

One of my good friends called me crying in panic and fear, worried about a cousin who worked in the Towers. She asked me if I thought this was the end. I said, of course not, but after our conversation, I, too wondered what was going on and if she hadn’t been that far off. And later that day as I watched the news reports and especially at all the lives that were lost, I, like many, wondered how God allowed this. I recall hearing the stories of families who lost a father, a sister, a loved one, and those who were still searching to find their bodies amongst the rubble, and I again wondered how God allowed this. Unlike others, I didn’t question God’s existence or His sovereignty, but I definitely questioned His Plan.

Now over 15 years have passed, and while our way of life has changed, it wasn’t the end of the world. Life has continued, and throughout the years, we’ve continued to see horrible acts of terrorism in school shootings, movie theater shootings, and other random, unexpected acts of terrorism. But yet, life continues. It endures.

Perhaps this morning, you’re looking at your own life. You’re surrounded by heaps of rubble. You’re enduring but you’re wondering where God is… and how He allowed something to happen in your life. Perhaps you’re looking at a dream that is in tatters… or you’re reflecting on a relationship that imploded… or you, too, have lost a loved one. You’re suffering in pain and wondering where God is…

For those of you, I share this verse I came across during my quiet time today:

“If the Lord had not been on our side–let Israel say–if the Lord had not been our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.

Praise be to the Lord, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalms 124: 1-8

We may not understand why God prevents some things in our lives and allows other things to happen. But there is one thing we can be sure of… if it weren’t for God, we would have been consumed by our loss. We wouldn’t still be standing.

And for those of you who have been knocked to your knees by your struggles, by your loss, like the Towers, you, too, will be rebuilt.

But first we must clean out the rubble from our lives. We must make room in our hearts for something new. We must realize God is still God. And we trust him with a child-like faith.

Out of the rubble, if you allow it, God can rebuild your life. He can rebuild your dreams. He can make you stronger. He can help you stand taller.

If you allow it.