The cartoon depicts the darkened New York skyline. In the place where the World Trade Center Towers once stood were placed, next to each other, a giant FDNY firefighter and NYPD officer. The caption reads: "Twin Towers."

I'm a law enforcement chaplain. I know what heroes our emergency personnel are. Since September 11, 2001, Americans have realized their important role as well.

As I write this, my fellow chaplains are working 12-hour shifts at ground zero. They are there to encourage the recovery workers and provide moments of respect for the bodies that are recovered. In the months ahead, I may find myself there as well.

If you are like me, a day hasn't gone by since 9-11-01 that you haven't thought about that act of terror. As I turned to my Bible reading today, I came across an amazing parallel between Judah and the United States. In Isaiah 33, we find Jerusalem surrounded by the Assyrians under Sennacherib. The mighty Assyrian army that swept across nations wasn't about to let this tiny country keep its capital city. Hezekiah was one of the few Godly kings in Judah's history. Yet, this Godly king looked for alternative ways to get out of the mess. He tried to appease Sennacherib by stripping the temple of its gold and buy them off (2 Kings 18:13-16). That didn't work so he approached an old enemy, Egypt, for help. Nothing doing.

In the middle of this, God speaks through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 33:18 & 19: "In your thoughts you will ponder the former terror: "Where is that chief officer?…Where is the officer in charge of the towers?" You will see those arrogant people no more, those people of obscure speech, with their strange, incomprehensible tongue."

Hezekiah was relying on military might by trying to form alliances. Ultimately, that would fail and he was forced to rely on the Lord for deliverance. Sennacherib was relying on his great army to destroy Jerusalem. But God had other plans. In Isaiah 37:36, we read that the angel of the Lord put to death 185,000 Assyrian soldiers! Sennacherib, with what was left of his army, broke camp and fled. Later, when he was worshipping his idol-god, two of his sons cut him down with the sword!

As we ponder our former terror that happened in New York, the Pentagon, and the fields of Pennsylvania, where will we put our trust? Will we put it solely in our alliances with other nations to end terror? Will we depend on our military? Or will we depend on God? I believe God can be trusted to deliver us. As was promised in Psalm 91:5, "You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day."