I am not a morning person, and usually have difficulty getting going. But, on this day I had no problem. I had visited Manhattan many times before but never on business. The thought of visiting our office in "The Big Apple" and of making the sale was exciting. If I had known what was to happen in lower Manhattan that day I might have stayed in bed!
1992 was not a good year. My wife and I, along with millions of other Americans, found ourselves in a very severe financial situation. The company I work for continued to thrive in spite of the long recession. However, because of a departmental reorganization, I found that my position as a sales manager had been eliminated and as a result my income dropped by almost 70% within just a few months. At times my monthly income was not enough to cover the monthly mortgage payment let alone the utilities or food and other necessities. We found ourselves sinking deeper and deeper into a financial black hole.
God's Plan at the World Trade Center
At 6:15am on the morning of February 26, 1993 the alarm clock woke me up 45 minutes earlier than usual. I quickly arose and began to prepare for what I knew would be a very unusual day. Exactly how unusual, could not have been guessed.
For more than seven years I had been working for a large business machine dealership on Long Island. In all that time I had rarely left the office to visit customers, since all of my business was conducted over the telephone. Even when I had occasionally gone out, it had been a local call. Today was to be very different. I was scheduled to meet one of the sales managers of our Manhattan office. We were to visit a client in lower Manhattan in an attempt to close a very big sale.
We panicked, became stressed out and completely frazzled by what was happening to us, because in spite of much prayer and calling on the Lord, there seemed to be no end in sight. We knew that God was there. We knew that He still loved us. But, though there were many answers to prayer for specific situations, the heavens seemed as brass when it came to a solution to the basic problem.... Insufficient income.
Of the many spiritual problems that I struggled with during this period, the most serious was the feeling that God was either not talking to me, or I was not hearing His voice. I constantly sought Him for clear direction but it seemed that none came. Then in late November there was a breakthrough. The Lord led me to a scripture in Jeremiah that gave me some very clear direction concerning a decision I needed to make. I was greatly encouraged and followed the direction given. Then in mid-December more direction came. The Lord very clearly led me to: Jeremiah 29:11-14.
"I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you" declares the Lord, "and I will restore your fortunes...."(NASV)
I was greatly encouraged by these wonderful promises from God's Word. Especially the part where He says, "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you." I no longer felt that the heavens were as brass. I finally knew that my heavenly Father would listen. I considered these promises so important that I didn't ever want to be without them. So, I typed out a copy of the scripture and carried it with me every day in my shirt pocket. When I prayed about our situation I would always remind God of what He had said His plan for me was. "Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." And, "I will restore your fortunes...."
I often reminded the Lord, that if we lost our house or if we sank deeper into debt, then that would be a calamity. Little by little things seemed to start to turn around. Little by little my faith, which had sunk so low, began to rise. There were more and more answers to prayer, not only in our lives but also in the lives of others I prayed for. I no longer had a problem believing that God was listening, because whenever I prayed about anything I would always remind Him of His promise to listen. In spite of all this, I began to be discouraged because, by the beginning of February 1993 many of the basic issues I had been seeking guidance on had still not been resolved.
Then My wonderful Lord confirmed His word to me and taught me a powerful lesson. He brought me to lower Manhattan on the morning of February 26, 1993. I arrived at Penn Station at 9:30am and walked the six blocks to our Manhattan Sales office. It was a cold blustery day, for which a major snow storm had been predicted. So far we only had flurries. Upon arrival, I was introduced all around and given a tour of the office. The sales manager and I huddled to discuss strategy for our visit with the client. The appointment was not until 11:00 o'clock so I had time for a few phone calls. We left the office at 10:30, on our way to Vesey Street in lower Manhattan.
At about that time my wife Nancy had a very unusual experience at home. As she was doing her chores an intense urgency for prayer came upon her. She began a period of fervent prayer and intercession in the Holy Spirit that lasted for about an hour. She found herself weeping, crying, praying and praising until the Lord finally gave her peace. But she had no idea what it was about or who she had prayed for.
We arrived promptly at 11:00am for our appointment. The meeting went very well and at the end of about 40 minutes we were very glad as we left, the sale having been made. As we exited the building the man I was with made a suggestion. "Why don't we go into the World Trade Center" he said, "And I'll show you around." We walked the half block distance and went in. Once, years before, I had visited the observation deck at the top of one of the towers. But, I had never been on the main level shopping arcade before. It was magnificent! Suddenly my companion said, "Listen, I can't stay. I have another appointment. I'll have to go downstairs to the Subway and catch a train uptown. I'll be seeing you!" And, he was gone. I found myself alone in the middle of this beautiful mall.
What to do? I looked at my watch. It was 11:45am. I was a bit hungry and realized that the place was soon to fill up with a mob of workers from the Trade Center above me, seeking lunch. I decided that I had best beat them to it. I looked around and spotted a pizza restaurant in the middle of the arcade. I got on line, ordered a slice of pizza and a soda. I found a seat and sat down to enjoy my lunch as the place began to fill up with the lunch time crowd. When I finished I was still hungry and considered getting on line to get another slice of Pizza, but the line was quite long so I decided not to bother. I put on my coat and walked out into that magnificent mall.
What to do now? I had about an hour before I had to be back at Penn Station to catch my train out to Long Island. "This place looks so beautiful," I thought. "Maybe I should take a few minutes and look around." I reasoned that I had never been there before and it might be a very long time before I was there again, so why not look around a little? But, I changed my mind and decided instead to walk through the neighborhood, in order to get a feel for the types of businesses that were there.
On a purely natural level, I am not sure what made me change my mind. Maybe it was the lunchtime crowds starting to fill the place. I don't know. I do know that the idea of walking through the neighborhood in that cold, snowy blustery wind soon lost its appeal. But, on quite a different level I now know, that though she wasn't aware of it at the time, my wife's intercession was for me. She was called to prayer, so that my steps were ordered of the Lord. For His word to me had been... "I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans for welfare and not for calamity...."
I walked out of the World Trade Center at 12:10pm. Eight minutes later calamity struck! The place where I had been sitting as I ate my lunch was shaken by the blast of a huge bomb! Shards of glass were sent flying by the force of the blast. People ran screaming in all directions. I could have been subject to serious injury or even death, but I was not there! In fact I was totally oblivious to what was happening.
In those few minutes I had walked back down Vesey street and turned the corner. I walked another block and a half and entered a shop to buy some nuts for a snack. It was a sandwich shop that also sold nuts, candies and other snacks by the pound. It was filled with a noisy lunchtime crowd. I now believe that the explosion occurred while I was in that noisy shop, so that I never even heard the blast.
As I continued walking North on Broadway I was disturbed by the sound of fire engines racing past. First one then several. And, wondered where they were going. Not knowing, at the time, that the Word of the Lord had been fulfilled in my life! I did not learn of the tragedy until I heard it on the car radio of one of my co-workers who picked me up at the train station, back on Long Island. When I heard it I was in shock to realize how close I had come to being involved in what would have been, at the very least, a very traumatic experience.
Through all of this I now have more confidence than I have had in years. God has shown me that His Word to me is true. Not just because He spared me from the calamity. But, because I now know and understand that even as He led me out of that building in time to miss the blast; He also led me into the building to teach me that He is in complete control of my life. That He really does have a plan for me. That His plan for me is "Good and acceptable and perfect." And, that no matter what happens, His plan will not be thwarted. We still have a way to go to get out of the hole we are in. But, no matter how deep the hole, we now know that His arm is more than long enough to reach us. And, when He makes a promise, He keeps it!
NOTE: Since this article was written a calamity of far greater proportions has befallen the World Trade Center. I no longer work for that company, but I can honestly say that in the fifteen years since this article was written and published, God has been entirely faithful. He has been with us every step of the way, using the circumstances of life, both good and bad, positive and negative, to further "His plan" for our lives. He has proven time and again that His will is "Good and acceptable and perfect." We have survived, in many ways prospered, and continuously look forward to "the future and the hope" He has promised.
