REMEMBER. RETURN. REPAIR. PREPARE.
There are certain dates that become more than dates on a calendar. They become markers in our memories and milestones in our lives.
September 11 is one of those dates.
Twenty-five years ago, on September 11, 2001, our nation and, in many ways, the entire world was suddenly, tragically and forever changed.
Many of us still remember where we were when we first heard the news. We remember watching in disbelief as the Twin Towers were struck. We remember the Pentagon. We remember Flight 93. We remember the images, the confusion, the grief, and the realization that life as we knew it would never quite be the same.
Twenty-five years later, we must still never forget.
We remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day, and the many since then.
We remember the families whose lives were forever altered.
We remember firefighters climbing stairwells while others were desperately trying to escape.
We remember police officers, emergency personnel, military personnel, rescue workers, medical workers, and ordinary citizens who ran toward danger rather than away from it.
We remember the passengers of Flight 93 who courageously acted knowing what it might cost them.
And we remember countless unsung heroes whose names may never be known by most of us.
September 11 is now observed as Patriot Day and the National Day of Service and Remembrance. It is appropriate that we stop and remember.
Because remembering is not simply looking backward.
Remembering helps determine how we move forward.
COURAGE REVEALED IN CRISIS:
One of the lessons September 11 taught us is something I have observed repeatedly through decades of responding to disasters and crises: Courage and character often shine brightest under intense pressure. We don’t always know what is inside of us until circumstances demand something from us.
On September 11, ordinary men and women stepped into extraordinary circumstances.
Jesus said:
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:13
We saw something of that sacrificial love demonstrated before our eyes.
The number 911 was already synonymous with calling for help in an emergency. Yet on September 11, 2001, there were circumstances in which human rescuers could only do so much.
We were reminded of our human frailty. But helpless does not have to mean hopeless.
Scripture declares:
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
Ultimately, Jesus Christ is our greatest Rescuer. He stepped into humanity’s greatest crisis and gave His life so that we might live.
Twenty five years later, we still needs men and women with the courage to serve, sacrifice, stand for what is right, and demonstrate compassion toward others.
But there is another kind of courage we desperately need.
It is the courage to allow God to search us.
A UNIQUE CONVERGENCE IN 2026:
Without attempting to manufacture prophetic significance or read something into the calendar that God has not said, I nevertheless find the timing of this 25th anniversary thought-provoking.
September 11, 2026, is the final day of Elul 5786 on the Hebrew calendar.
At sundown, Tishrei 5787 begins, along with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year – the “head of the year.” It also begins the sacred season commonly called the Ten Days of Awe or Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
For centuries, Elul has been associated in Jewish tradition with introspection, repentance, reconciliation, and preparation. I’ve sometimes described it as a kind of spiritual fall cleaning.
Before entering a new season, examine the old one.
Before asking what is next, examine what has been.
Before looking outward, allow God to look inward.
So on this September 11, perhaps there are four words worth considering:
REMEMBER.
RETURN.
REPAIR.
PREPARE.
REMEMBER:
Scripture repeatedly tells God’s people to remember.
Remember His faithfulness.
Remember where He brought you from.
Remember what He has taught you.
Remember His covenant.
Remembering is not living in the past. It is refusing to lose the lessons purchased through the experiences of the past.
September 11 reminds us of the fragility of life, the reality of evil, the preciousness of sacrifice, and the power of courage.
We saw destruction, but we also saw compassion.
We saw fear, but we also saw courage.
We saw hatred, but we also witnessed extraordinary acts of love.
We saw death, but we also saw people willing to lay down their lives so that others might live.
Twenty-five years later, we should not merely remember the tragedy.
We should remember the testimony.
And we should ask ourselves: What kind of people will we be when the next crisis comes? We cannot know everything tomorrow will require from us. But we can determine today the kind of people we are becoming.
RETURN:
The biblical concept of teshuvah carries the idea of turning or returning.
Returning to God.
Returning to His ways.
Returning to truth.
Returning to covenant.
Returning to what we know is right.
For years I’ve spoken about seasons of exposures, implosions, and explosions. Shaking has a way of revealing what has been hidden and exposing the foundations upon which things have actually been built.
When everything is going well, weak foundations can remain concealed.
But shaking reveals foundations.
Hebrews 12 reminds us that what can be shaken will be shaken so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Yet before asking God to expose everything happening around us, perhaps we should first invite Him to examine what is happening within us. David prayed:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties.” Psalm 139:23
That is a courageous prayer. Not merely: “Lord, change them.” But: “Lord, search me.”
Search my heart.
Search my motives.
Search my attitudes.
Search my relationships.
Search my words.
Search the places nobody else sees.
Because God sees. God hears. God knows.
We may manage appearances before people, but we cannot manage appearances before God.
Our private conversations matter.
Our attitudes matter.
Our murmuring matters.
Our gossip and slander matter.
Our bitterness matters.
How we speak about people when they aren’t in the room matters. Not because God is waiting for an opportunity to condemn us, but because He desires a people whose private lives correspond with their public confession.
True spiritual preparation isn’t cosmetic. It is allowing God to clean house.
REPAIR:
But preparation requires more than removing what is wrong. Sometimes we must repair what has been broken.
There are relationships needing reconciliation.
There are words requiring apologies.
There are offenses needing release.
There are wounds requiring attention.
There are altars needing rebuilding.
There are hearts needing to turn.
One of the recurring themes throughout Scripture, and throughout my own life and ministry has been the turning of hearts. Malachi speaks of fathers’ hearts being turned toward their children and children’s hearts toward their fathers. It is a powerful picture of generational restoration.
A generation unwilling to address its brokenness can pass that brokenness to those who follow. But a generation willing to humble itself, repent, reconcile, and rebuild can leave something entirely different. It can leave a legacy of hope.
Psalm 78 speaks of declaring God’s works to the generations to come so they might put their hope in God and, in turn, teach their children. That is generational stewardship.
We cannot ask God to turn the heart of a nation while refusing to allow Him to turn our own hearts.
We cannot pray for revival while refusing reconciliation.
And we cannot properly prepare the next generation without allowing God to prepare us.
PREPARE:
The prophetic cry of Isaiah was:
“Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Isaiah 40:3
John the Baptist carried that same cry:
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
This is where I believe our focus needs to be.
The question isn’t merely: Are we prepared for what is coming?
The deeper question is: Are we preparing a people for the King?
We are preparing hearts.
We are preparing homes.
We are preparing churches.
We are preparing leaders.
We are preparing sons and daughters.
We are preparing the generations following us.
We are preparing men and women who can stand when everything around them is shaking.
Years ago, the Lord impressed something upon me that remains relevant:
Stay low.
Draw near.
Incline your ear.
Stay low: in a posture of humility.
Draw near: remaining close to His presence.
Incline your ear: listening so that when He speaks, we are prepared to obey.
Preparation is not standing in the grandstands of life shouting about everything happening on the field.
God has called us to participate with Him.
WHAT WILL THE NEXT GENERATION REMEMBER ABOUT US?
Twenty-five years after September 11, we remember a generation of firefighters, police officers, military personnel, rescue workers, medical workers, public servants, and ordinary citizens who stepped forward when circumstances demanded courage. We remember all those who have since stepped up to join the fight against terrorism, made sacrifices, and all those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice.
What will those who come after us remember about our generation? Will they remember our arguments, or our compassion?
Our platforms, or our character?
Our popularity, or our obedience?
Our divisions, or our willingness to reconcile?
Will our children and grandchildren inherit the consequences of our unresolved brokenness, or will they receive the blessing of repaired foundations?
Psalm 78 challenges us not to hide God’s works from our children, but to tell the coming generation so they might set their hope in God.
That means our decisions today reach farther than ourselves.
We are preparing someone else’s tomorrow.
A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE KING:
As Elul 5786 comes to an end and Tishrei 5787 begins, perhaps the invitation is beautifully simple:
Come back.
Come back to God.
Come back to prayer.
Come back to truth.
Come back to humility.
Come back to covenant.
Come back to the foundations that cannot be shaken.
The Lord is not simply looking for people who can talk about revival. He is looking for people prepared for revival.
A people whose hearts are clean.
Whose hands are willing.
Whose relationships are being reconciled.
Whose private lives match their public confession.
Who understand that God sees, God hears, and God knows.
Who can stand when everything else is shaking.
Who are willing to repair broken altars and broken relationships.
Whose hearts are turned toward God, toward one another, and toward the generations.
A people prepared to serve.
Prepared to sacrifice.
Prepared to forgive.
Prepared to tell the truth.
Prepared to walk in integrity when nobody is watching.
Prepared to demonstrate courage when circumstances demand it.
And prepared to welcome the King.
REMEMBER. RETURN. REPAIR. PREPARE.
So, as September 11 comes again:
REMEMBER – what happened and honor those who sacrificed.
RETURN – to God and the foundations that cannot be shaken.
REPAIR – what has been broken in our hearts, homes, relationships, churches, and communities.
PREPARE – ourselves and the generations following us for whatever God has ahead.
Twenty-five years later, we still remember. But remembrance should do more than make us look backward. It should change how we live forward.
May we have the courage of those who ran toward the crisis rather than away from it.
May we have the humility to pray, “Search me, O God.”
May we have the willingness to say with Isaiah, “Here am I! Send me.”
And may we hear again the prophetic cry: “Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Remember.
Return.
Repair.
Prepare.
The King is worthy.
BY DOUG STRINGER