‘God does amazing things through tragedy’. There are many for whom this statement would seem a contradiction in terms. The thinking might be that since tragedies occur there cannot be a God worth believing in. For such a God would surely be either uncaring or impotent.
But these are the words spoken by Paul Carris one of the last people to walk out of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre before it collapsed on 11 September 2001. Obeying an order to evacuate from the 71stfloor he was heading for the stairs when something made him stop and offer to help a stranger in difficulty. This decision delayed his own escape as they struggled down endless flights of stairs. But part way down she started to read Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd. This small interaction started a journey that ended with Paul finding a new relationship with Jesus that changed his life forever. She was forever grateful that he had saved her life. But he would say the same of her.
We live in a world of miracle and mystery. Paul’s testimony and the testimony of many others like him is that sometimes in the mystery of things we can’t comprehend a miracle happens.