“The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.” Zephaniah 1:14-16 NKJV
The morning of September 11th, 2001, seemed like an ordinary day. My mom was taking my brother and I to school. My mom had the radio tuned into KLOVE and the DJ’s at the time made the announcement that an airplane crashed into a building in downtown Manhattan. It didn’t register to me what was going on at the time but as my mom pulled up to the band hall, she gave me a stern warning, “You better be good to your brother today. Jesus could come back today.” Side note, we lived in a school district where 7th – 9th was considered Junior High so me being a 9th grader didn’t care too much about being seen with my brother who was a 7th grader.
As I went to drop off my trumpet in the band hall before the bell rang for first period, I overheard several students talking about the airplane that I heard about on the radio just minutes before. I really didn’t understand what the commotion was all about until I went to homeroom. My teacher had the television turned on and I finally grasped the seriousness of what was truly happening.
Not a single teacher taught class that morning. If there were school announcements made over the intercom that morning nobody noticed. We all sat there, frozen in shock as we watched the horror of that day unfold live on national television. When I saw the second plane hit live on ABC News, I immediately knew our nation was under attack. I was confused and terrified. I remember glancing over at my friend Bret, who sat on the other side of the classroom, and will never forget the look of terror on his face as he sat in his desk silently praying. The last words my mom spoke to me that morning kept replaying in my mind over and over. I was absolutely convinced those heavenly trumpets were about to go off at any second so I too sat in my desk silently praying.
Obviously the rapture never happened that day but the months following 9/11 were truly unforgettable. Churches were full for the first time in decades, everybody had a renewed sense of patriotism and love for their country, American flags flew off the shelves in record setting fashion, soldiers and first responders were highly revered and almost everyone supported the president. Believe it or not, president Bush had a 90% approval rating! Tragedy truly united Americans but when I look at America today, I see a completely different America.
In 2021, I see a country where it’s not terrorists and radical jihadists that loathe America the most but young Americans. I see a country where police and first responders aren’t viewed as heroes and role models but are labeled as systemically racist institutions that must be abolished. I see a country where the voices with the most power and influence aren’t the ones from the pulpit but the virtue signalers and the cancel culture mob. I see a country where wide spread wickedness is culturally accepted, celebrated and defended with great fervor. I see a country where the greatest atrocity ever committed in the history of man is no longer called “choice” but “health care.”
THIS is what America has become and it is a completely different America than it was twenty years ago. I never would have dreamed our country would be where it is today. I grieve for our country because I realize America is on a collision course with God’s judgment. Our country is so morally and spiritually broken that it is beyond human repair. It cannot be fixed with an election and it cannot be fixed by the church. I’m convinced the only hope for America now is if God in His infinite mercy turns America over to its destruction. I want nothing more than to see America glorify God again and to see godly men and women running our nation and passing godly legislation but if it takes calamity to bring about godly change then I cannot bring myself to pray against it. Instead, I pray “Lord, let your will be done. Do whatever it takes to drive America to its knees and back to You.”
Joshua Hawk 