He watched what sinful man was doing and was grieved

Where was God Sept. 11, 2001?

By NiteOwlDave
NiteOwlDave@gmail.com

When we are struck by a tragedy, we often hear non-Christians and

Christians raise the age-old question, "Why would a caring God allow that to
happen?"

We hear protests that God could have forced the terrorists to steer
away from the Pentagon in Washington and The World Trade Center in New
York, Sept. 11, but He didn't. The net result was 3,000 innocent deaths. Why
didn't He intervene? Hmm! Well, try this answer on for size.

God chose not to intervene because God gives us freewill. That

freewill even allows us to kill one another!

The Bible says that God allows sinful man to choose to accomplish
horrible atrocities, but that He is grieved when they happen. It is not what
He wants for us.

Although saddened, God seldom interferes with what fallen man

conspires.

There are several times in the Bible when God expressed sadness and
anger over the conduct of His creation.

1. He was grieved to have brought on the great flood which drowned

all but Noah and his family who were saved by the ark he built.
Genesis 6:5-10 is sobering:
"When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that
the trend and direction of men's lives were only toward evil, he was sorry he
had made them. It broke his heart.
"And he said, 'I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind
that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I
am sorry I made them.'
 "But Noah was a pleasure to the Lord. He was the only righteous man
living on the earth at that time."

2. God was grieved about the whining Israelites after He led them out
of slavery in Egypt to Canaan (Israel) with Moses at the helm. Psalms 95:10-
11 states, "For forty years I watched them in disgust. They were a nation
whose thoughts and heart were far away from me. They refused to accept
my laws."

3. God became ticked with the holy-joe Pharisees as told in Mark 3:5.
Jesus is talking: "Looking around at the them angrily, for he was deeply
disturbed by their indifference to human need..."

4. Jesus was despaired in the Garden of Gethsemane before his

betrayal and crucifixion as Matthew 26:37 notes, "He took Peter with Him
and Zebedee's two sons James and John, and began to be filled with anguish
and despair."

5. Jesus was vexed over Jerusalem. Luke 13:34 reports Jesus as

lamenting,"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! The city that murders the prophets. The
city that stones those sent to help her. How often I have wanted to gather
your children together even as a hen protects her brood under her wings, but
you would not let me."

6. When Jesus saw the wailing at the news of the death of Lazarus and
seeing that Mary nor the Jewish leaders exhibited no hope that Jesus could
(but did) bring him back to life, "Jesus wept." That, the shortest verse in the
Bible, is found in John 11:35.

7. God became fed up with the sinfulness of Sodom and, in this case,
took direct action and destroyed the city by fire. Genesis 18:19 says, "Their
sin is very grievous."

Anne Graham, daughter of evangelist Billy Graham and a renowned

author/speaker, offered the following thoughtful insight about God and the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a TV interview.

"I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but
for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of
government and to get out of our lives," Graham said.
 "And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He calmly backed
out. How can we expect God to give us his blessing and His protection if we
demand that He leave us alone?"

Essentially, we have only ourselves to blame for this because we have

many times ordered God out of our lives, thus leaving a vacuum for Satan
and his followers to sweep in.

We have demeaned God to an "X", as in Xmas! The following are

observations that have been circulated widely amongst Christians on the
Internet. The writer is not named.

“We (the US) watched in the 1960s as atheist Madeline O'Hare

successfully had prayer banned in public-funded schools.

“Next, the Bible was excluded from the classroom.

“Then we went along when Dr. Benjamin Spock who said we

shouldn't spank children for misbehaving because we might damage their
self esteem. (Spock's son committed suicide, by the way.)

“Some parents said teachers and principals shouldn't discipline their

children when they misbehave. The action wasn't spawned because of
abuses. Still, we said okay.

“Then someone suggested that pregnant students be allowed to have

abortions and their parents need not be informed. We went along with it.

“Free condoms became available at schools in confidants. Parents

shrugged. We bought the argument that pornography is simply appreciation
of the female body.

“Hollywood began to serve up more and more TV programs and

movies where casual sex and use of illegal drugs are exploited to the point
where we are no longer alarmed.

“Rap and rock lyrics praise Satan, applaud drugs, rape, murder, and
suicide. We put up with it.
 “And we wonder why many kids—and adults—today kill their
classmates and strangers for no apparent good reason!

The Bible is bang on when it states that, "We reap what we sow."
We have indeed sold out!”

If a student today were to ask God why He didn't save the child shot
in a classroom, God would be justified in replying, "Dear Concerned
Student, I am not allowed in schools. Sincerely, God."

Bizarre? Is it?! Apply the logic of cause and affect, and this scenario
computes quite nicely.

It's odd that we trash God and then wonder why the world's going to
hell. It's strange why we believe what TV and the newspapers say, but
deeply question what the Bible says.

It's weird how everyone wants to go to Heaven provided they do not

have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Bible says.

It's ridiculous how someone can say, "I believe in God", but follows
Satan who, by the way, also "believes" in God but is going to Hell.

Strange that we forward thousands of jokes to e-mail acquaintances,

but hesitate about passing along thoughtful messages regarding God.

We trade Christmas cards which call for "Peace on earth," failing to

include the preface to that verse which, in full, reads, "Glory to God in the
highest", then "Peace on Earth and good will toward men."

It makes no sense that we will not forward stories like this because we
are concerned that friends might think we're freaky.

It seems we are more worried about what people will think of us than
what God will think of us.

We would rather sit back and continue complaining about the bad
shape the world is in and wonder why no one is standing up for the truth?

Let's get some guts and share stuff like this around!
 Don't forget, God cares for us despite what we cause in this sin-
ridden, God-rejecting world.