The Spiritual Fitness ManualSýnishorn

Ground Zero and God’s Word

LT Jerry Sillcocks, FDNY

After 9/11, my wife and I found ourselves looking to God’s Word for comfort. As a lieutenant in the NYC Fire Department I knew firsthand the tragedy that this terrorist attack had created. We both had our Bibles open when suddenly my wife told me to turn to Psalm 146. She had been comforted by verse 9. She knew how many lives had been lost, how many people had lost loved ones and how many had been left fatherless and widowed. 

God pointed me to Psalm 146:10.

That night, as I returned to work, I came to realize just how powerful and meaningful God’s Word is. I was assigned to work at what had become known as “the pile” at Ground Zero. I started working in the long lines of the bucket brigade, moving pieces of the pile so we could sift through it.

As the night went on, my company was called to go to what remained of the top of the World Trade Center. To get there, you had to scale ladders and cross an area that became known as “the pit,” a terrifying and dangerous place. After my team made it through this obstacle course of danger and reached the top of the World Trade Center, it only became more dangerous. To get to our objective, you had to cross a beam and literally walk through fire and smoke while standing on a 12-inch wide surface. 

There was nowhere else to go. As I walked, being blinded and choked by the smoke, I came to realize that my human effort wasn’t going to get me through this. The fear of falling and death was real.  The thoughts going through my mind were of my family, but I knew I couldn’t leave—I had a job to do. At that very moment, God brought to my heart the verse that I had read just the night before: It brought me great peace and strengthened me.

That night, our task was completed. We were able to bring two of our fellow firefighters’ bodies down and home to their families. As the sun rose and we left that position, all I could do was marvel at the power of God and how He used His word to help me.