When The News Is Not Good
As I write this, Israel is under attack. Brutal images of savagery have caused tremendous suffering; more suffering, on both sides, is inevitable. Much prayer and support of all kinds is needed and being offered. What will be the long-term effects of this war? How many will be damaged, physically, and/or emotionally? Many, that is certain, and we must pray for God’s comfort, in the near and long term.
My wife and I lived in New York City when September 11, 2001, happened. She worked in Manhattan, around the corner from the well-known Empire State Building. That morning is forever seared in my memory. At first, I thought some small plane had hit one of the two towers of the World Trade Center due to pilot error. It wasn’t long before I heard and saw a second large plane crash directly and purposefully into the second tower. I fell on my knees and began to weep as I realized we were under attack.
As the enormity of the event continued to unfold, I feared the Empire State Building, also an iconic city landmark, would be targeted, putting my wife in danger. All bus and subway transportation had been halted. There was no way off the island, save for walking over bridges and along highways. Fortunately, I was able to call friends who worked for Jews for Jesus, and they welcomed my wife to come to their office.
As the day wore on, I contemplated how many lives were being snuffed out – and how horribly. I remember scenes of people jumping to their deaths rather than being burned alive. The lucky ones were exiting covered in soot and ashes, some being carried by others to safety.
Towards the later part of the day, public transportation resumed, and my wife and I each arrived home safely, conscious that there were people from all over metropolitan New York who had gone to work that day and would never come home.
Two weeks after 9/11, I was scheduled to speak at a church in Cleveland, Ohio. As I flew over the city, I remember locating the tallest building and thinking to myself, “That’s the target!” Strange thought. A new reality. I was broken inside.
The brothers and sisters at that church ministered to me: listened, prayed, and comforted. And that was wonderful. However, I realized something: until you are familiar with suffering, you can’t really understand it. It must touch you personally.
I remembered the horror a few years prior when the Federal Building in Oklahoma City had been blown up. Many had died or were injured that day. But for me, it had been a headline, a news story. It hadn’t had the same impact that I experienced after 9/11.
The new reality continued after I returned from Cleveland. Getting on a city subway, I would look at the faces of the others riding with me. There was fear in those faces, all of us imagining how someone wanting to do mass harm might set off a bomb in the subway. I would look at others and wonder: Are these the people I will be dying with today? It sounds morbid, but that strange thought became another new normal.
Our apartment in Queens looked southward towards JFK airport. Normally – before 9/11 – we would watch as planes, one after another, made their landing approaches. But for many days after the attack, all flights were suspended. It was eerie. All we could see was a plume of smoke still burning under all the debris of the World Trade Center. It smoldered for weeks.
As the days and weeks passed, people told their stories. Everyone knew someone who’d been impacted. Forget six degrees of separation, it was more like two or three. Then the gruesome task of cleanup began. One of our congregants worked for the New York City Building Department and worked cleaning up what became known as Ground Zero. There was much talk of toxic chemicals and elements that might be carcinogenic. But what he told me was that no one cared. They all felt as though they were involved in a sacred mission. He had a wife and two young children himself, but he just knew he must be there; he wanted to be there.
Though different, scenes we are now seeing from Israel are similarly horrific. The same people and ideology that perpetrated 9/11 are the ones barbarically attacking Israel now.
There are already stories coming from Israel; there will be more. Everyone will know someone who died, was injured, or miraculously survived. These stories will bring a sacredness of their own. We, who are involved with Life in Messiah, have many loved ones and friends living in the Land. Our hearts are broken. This is more than a news event for us. It’s personal – and it’s awful.
The whole nation of Israel will be impacted for years to come. For some, their lives will never be the same. We must pray now, in the weeks ahead, and for a long time to come. We hope and pray the conflict will not escalate further.
Soon the news will move on to the next event. But we will not. We cannot.
Pray to God, who alone can bring good out of evil, that many will turn to Yeshua (Jesus), both Jewish people and Arabs. Pray for God’s healing power to be on hurting bodies and souls. Pray for God’s protection. Pray today, next week, and for years to come.
Written by Marc, Life in Messiah staff
(1) Have you experienced suffering that shaped you as a person?
(2) What did you learn from this experience that you can use to comfort others who are hurting?
(3) How will you help Israel today? Here are some ways to pray and take action.