I feel certain that God was there in lower Manhattan on 9/11, with every soul, in the midst of that sheer terror and raw evil. This gives me comfort.

If the thought of finding God in such horrendous circumstances seems strange, perhaps it is because we are out of practice looking for him. In good times it is easy for us to call God “Father” and acknowledge him as the source of our blessings.

But when tragedy strikes we too often (to borrow from George MacDonald) “look upon God as our last and feeblest resort. We go to him because we have nowhere else to go.”

We forget that God is right there, waiting for us to turn to him, no matter how dire our situation. And we forget the reassuring words of his messengers: “Fear not.”

If we really trusted in God, these words would never seem empty. Instead, they would remind us that God always seeks to draw close to us–even as the Psalmist writes, in the depths of hell.

from “Be Not Afraid,” in Watch for the Light

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Gender-neutral version:

I feel certain that God was there in lower Manhattan on 9/11, with every soul, in the midst of that sheer terror and raw evil. This gives me comfort.

If the thought of finding God in such horrendous circumstances seems strange, perhaps it is because we are out of practice looking for God. In good times it is easy for us to call God “Father” and acknowledge God as the source of our blessings.

But when tragedy strikes we too often (to borrow from George MacDonald) “look upon God as our last and feeblest resort. We go to God because we have nowhere else to go.”

We forget that God is right there, waiting for us to turn to God, no matter how dire our situation. And we forget the reassuring words of God’s messengers: “Fear not.”

If we really trusted in God, these words would never seem empty. Instead, they would remind us that God always seeks to draw close to us–even as the Psalmist writes, in the depths of hell.

from “Be Not Afraid,” in Watch for the Light