Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
9 14 2026
911 – The Day After, Everything Changed
For one brief moment after 9/11, tragedy made us remember that we belonged to one another. What did the day after the Crucifixion reveal—and what have we forgotten since?
I watched the twenty-fifth anniversary tribute to September 11, and I was an emotional wreck. I remembered that morning. There was a television in our reception area, and we stood watching in horror as America was attacked. Nearly 3,000 people were murdered—fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, children and friends. We did not know them, but suddenly they felt like family. That is how deeply the horror struck us.
Some people said they could not bear to watch the anniversary tribute. Then I heard a survivor say that we owed it to those who died to watch. We owe it to them to remember. We owe it to their families to honor their courage and sacrifice. We owe it to ourselves not to become so comfortable that September 11 becomes merely another date in a history book.
Everyone who lived through that morning remembers where they were. It is indelibly etched into our souls. The attacks took 2,977 innocent lives: 2,753 in New York, 184 at the Pentagon and 40 passengers and crew members aboard United Flight 93. The people aboard that fourth aircraft learned what had happened and made a collective decision to fight back. They could not save themselves, but their courage almost certainly prevented an even greater catastrophe.
Grief and fear filled our nation. We did not know what might happen next. The ground beneath us no longer felt stable, solid or safe. Then the first responders stepped forward—firefighters, police officers, healthcare workers, laborers and ordinary volunteers. An American flag was raised above the twisted steel and pulverized concrete looking a lot like Iwo Jima in world war II. Broadway finally reopened and ended the evening with “God Bless America.” Flags appeared everywhere. For a brief moment, color, race, politics and social standing lost their power to separate us.
We grieved, but somehow we did not despair. We remembered that we belonged to one another.
As a nation, I wonder what it would mean to become like we were the day after 9/11—not frightened, but awakened; not suspicious of one another, but united; not absorbed with ourselves, but looking for someone to help. Anyone can destroy something. But to stand together in the face of terror, reach into the rubble and carry one another is inspiringly heroic.
May I draw a parallel?
What must it have been like to witness the Crucifixion of Jesus? His body had been beaten beyond recognition. He carried His cross until He could carry it no farther. Nails were driven through His hands and feet. At noon darkness covered the land, and at three o’clock Jesus cried out and gave up His spirit. The earth shook. Rocks split. The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:45–54).
What was the following day like for His disciples?
Their ground no longer felt stable either. Their Teacher was dead. Their expectations were buried behind a stone. Rome still ruled brutally, and the religious leaders who demanded the Crucifixion still held power. The disciples gathered behind locked doors because they were afraid (John 20:19). They did not yet understand that while they were grieving what appeared to be the end, God was preparing the greatest beginning in history.
The day after the Crucifixion, Heaven had not lost control.
The darkness was real, but it was not final. Evil had done its worst, but evil had not won. The tomb appeared sealed, but death was already defeated. The hopelessness of a fallen world had collided with the Author of hope. Jesus would rise, gather His followers again and eventually tell them to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. They would receive power and become His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:4–8).
I watched Ben-Hur again recently and was moved by the scene in which Jesus gives water to Judah Ben-Hur, a condemned man being marched toward a Roman warship. As Judah is dragged away, he strains to look back at the face of the Man who heard his cry and gave him water…saved his life.
How long do we look back at Jesus after He answers ours cries?
How many blessings have we allowed to pass unheralded because we called them coincidences? God brought relief, made a way, sent someone, protected us, forgave us or carried us through something we could never have survived alone. For a moment, we were overwhelmed with gratitude. But how long did we continue looking back?
How long did we strain to see the face of the One who gave us life?
Perhaps the depth of our gratitude can be measured, at least in part, by how long we keep looking back.
God’s intervention in your life was never intended to end with you. When He showed you mercy, He was also preparing you to show mercy. When He comforted you, He was preparing you to comfort someone else. When He rescued you, He was making your life part of His rescue of another person, another family or even another community.
On September 12, 2001, we remembered that life was fragile and people mattered. After the Resurrection, the disciples discovered something even greater: death had been defeated, hope was alive and their lives belonged to a purpose far beyond themselves.
What would happen if we lived with that awareness again? What if we sought the face of Jesus with an insatiable hunger? What if every new morning became another opportunity to love, serve, forgive and tell someone what Christ has done for us?
- When God rescued you, carried you or answered your cry, how long did you continue looking back in gratitude for the face of Jesus?
- Where is God asking you to carry His hope, mercy and love into a frightened and divided world?
Lord, do not allow us to forget the lives lost on September 11 or the unity and courage that followed. More importantly, never allow us to forget the cross, the empty tomb and the Savior who defeated darkness. Teach us to keep looking back with gratitude, looking up with worship and looking around for someone who needs the hope You have placed within us.
Make us one in You, and use our lives for Your purpose and Your glory. Amen.
Thank you for spending these few minutes with me today. My prayer is that these devotionals don’t simply give you something to think about, but draw you into a deeper love for Jesus Christ and His community.
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Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus…because He truly is the Treasure.
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