Read
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
John 14:12
Reflect
The events of September 11, 2001, have always captivated me. I am constantly awestruck and heartbroken about the tragedies that took place that day, but I’m also amazed at how often I hear stories that I’ve never heard before. One such tale evaded me for about 15 years before I heard it for the first time, and it’s one of those stories that reminds you that God is at work even amidst the worst of times.
Stairwell B – the only section of the World Trade Center to collapse and contain survivors.
At about the time that the South Tower fell at 9:59 a.m., a group of 12 firefighters from Ladder Company 6 found Josephine Harris, a secretary for New York’s Port Authority. She was crying and told them she was too tired to go on. The firefighters started to carry her and were soon joined by a Port Authority canine officer. For close to half an hour, the group of 14 slowly made their way toward the ground floor.
At 10:28 a.m., their world literally stopped. That’s when the North Tower fell, collapsing around them and trapping them inside the stairwell. What they didn’t realize is that the rest of the stairwell didn’t exist. Only the portion that contained this little group of 14 people – between the second and sixth floor – remained. They were a bit battered and bruised, but all 14 survived. Those who had been just behind them and just ahead of them did not.
I can’t understand why the Lord allowed some to live and others to die. That part is above my pay grade, and I’ll never presume to try and do God’s job for Him. But I do not believe in coincidences. No one has been able to explain exactly why Stairwell B remained intact when the rest of the building collapsed. But clearly, God had a plan that involved those 14 people, and their survival is nothing short of a miracle.
God has never changed. He used miracles to accomplish his will and plans in the times of Moses, Elijah and Daniel, and He continued His miraculous ways through His Son, Jesus, as well as through the apostles. Miracles have taken place throughout history, but we so often attribute them to science, nature and happenstance. But if there is a God (and there is) and He created everything (and He did), isn’t it possible that He is completely capable of changing the rules of His creation in order to provide us miracles that astound us and point toward Him?
Whenever you see the miraculous take place in this world, don’t try and find reasons that it’s not God at work. Give Him His due and thank Him for His miraculous ways. Give thanks that He still works among His people today, and use those miracles to encourage others to look toward Him and to trust Him with their lives.
Reflection copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
