Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Quiet Confidence


I Will Exalt You ~ Hillsong United

If my life is surrendered to God, all is well.  Let me not grab it back as though it were in peril in His hand but would be safer in mine. ~ Elisabeth Elliot

He got up, got dressed for work, kissed his girlfriend good-bye and headed out the door.  Today was the day it would all change for him.  He was starting a new job, a new way of life.  After orientation, his boss showed him to an office and asked him to file while she was in a meeting.  A while later, he began to hear a commotion.  People were yelling and running.  He stuck his head out of the office and saw the burning twin towers on TV and the reporter talking about the concerns for the President.  Then someone in the office said, “Air Force One is across the street!  Should we evacuate the building?” No one gave an answer, for they were all staring at the TV in horror. He moved back into the office and closed the door, his mind whirling.

Most people remember where they were on September 11, 2001.  In John 14:27, Jesus said that He came to give us peace, but He wasn’t talking about a world without war.  Jesus was talking about an inner-peace, a feeling of quiet confidence and complete trust.  That’s easier to say when your world seems at peace, but what about when your world is not at peace.  Or what about those who don’t know Him?  What then?

Standing in that office, leaning up against the door, he was afraid.  “What if I die today?  What if they take out the President’s plane and this office with it?  What if my girlfriend was right and I miss it?”  He began to remember what his friends had said one night after work, so many years ago.  They had talked about a Savior. Not a mean God, but One who wanted to love him and who would accept him.  Sliding down to the floor, he said, “God I give you my heart.  From this day forward, I’m Yours.”

The TV stations all reported the number of lives lost that day.  I’m sad for the families who all lost someone.  But I’m glad for at least the one soul who became a saved soul on that Tuesday.

Father God, thank you that on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 my husband became forever Yours.  Lord, thank you for his friends who told him about You long before I ever knew him.  Lord, I pray that for those who don’t know Peace—who don’t know You—that they would turn to You, that someone would come into their lives and tell them about You.  Father, thank you that You are our God and we are Your people.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

And I will give them a heart to know (recognize, understand, and be acquainted with) Me, that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart. ~ Jeremiah 24:7 AMP
©Heather Potts 2014, reprint 2018