Most people remember where they were on September 11, 2001. I’m no exception.

I had just arrived at work when a co-worker pulled me into our meeting room where several people were watching the news on TV. At that point, all we knew was that a plane had struck the first of the World Trade Center towers. But almost as quickly as I got into the room the second plane appeared from nowhere and struck the second tower.

A priest I worked with said immediately what we would all know was true by the end of the day – “This was no accident. We are under attack.”

The next week, I went with my stepfather to New York to pray with whoever God led our way. At our hotel, I met a bellhop named Benny who summed up what many people across the country were thinking. He said that the night of the attack, he went home and held his young son, and thought, “What kind of world are we living in where this could happen?”

Today’s scripture goes through my mind frequently whenever I think of 9/11. We can often feel as though everything around us is unraveling and that God has somehow disappeared. But the truth is that we live in a sinful world filled with sinful people, and sometimes sinful people do unthinkable things. We can do everything we reasonably can to prevent evil and protect one another, but we cannot make a fallen world completely safe.

When tragedy does strike, though, we can take comfort in knowing that we do have a refuge – God. Though the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, God will not be moved. He is still present, still faithful and still worthy of our trust. And He wants us to turn to Him first, both in good times and in bad.

Today, take some time to thank the Lord for the good things in your life. And the next time something happens that seems desperate and utterly beyond your grasp, turn to Him again.

When the ground beneath you feels as though it is giving way, remember that your refuge has not moved.