Airplane LOVE
I am sitting on the runway ready to take off. I started looking at the plane
and thinking… I’m sitting in this huge metal box, it weighs 1000’s of pounds,
I have no clue who is driving it, in a few minutes I will be 32,000 feet in the
air and it will eventually take me to my final destination. I don’t understand
how that is even possible nor how it all works, but I willingly and eagerly get
in, don’t question it and assume (hope) that I get there. Why do I have no
problem trusting this but at times have trouble trusting God when I DO know
my final destination and am confident I WILL get there, and I DO know who’s
driving and He actually created the sky I am flying in.
As we lifted off we flew right into a dark storm cloud and the thought came
to me that that’s where I’m headed next…back to the reality of the storm
brewing in my life. Looking out the window I could see nothing. My vision
was blocked by the thick grey clouds. I knew the pilot must be seeing the
same thing but I had to trust that he knew where we were going. How
much more then should I trust in the one who has already gone ahead to
prepare my final destination? HE knows where we are going. HE knows the
flight path He wants to take to get there and He has left part of himself
(His spirit) here to fly the plane. He also made me, knows me and loves me
regardless of my questions, fears, and hesitations. The pilot suddenly comes
on and says “I’ve taken the fasten your seatbelt sign off… you are free to walk
about the cabin”. “But how can I do that?” I asked. “It’s so bumpy and I still
can’t see anything outside the plane. Where are we? What if we are going
the wrong way?” He gently and lovingly answers “Just trust me…You are in
me and I am in you. We are in this plane together and I know where we’re
going. I love you, remember?”
At that moment I had a choice to make---I had to choose to sit back, relax and
trust the one flying the plane, the one who created the skies I’m traveling in
and the one who is waiting at the end of my journey to come get me and
take me home.
All because He loves me.
When we hear the word hurricane we think of a violent storm that causes major destruction and sometimes the loss of life. We often view the “storms of life” as overwhelming circumstances that threaten to overtake us or threaten our faith. Even though we know God is with us, we rarely view the storms as a good thing. We search for shelter and something to hold on to as the winds begin to increase and we brace ourselves for its impact.
What if we change our view of “the storms of life”. What if God is with us in the storms because he IS the storm and His love is the Hurricane force winds that powerfully sweep through our lives. Do we trust in His love for us enough to see it in the Hurricane, even when it leaves a destructive path of circumstances? Instead of running for shelter to protect our self from the violent winds, do we trust in His love for us enough to risk losing our life, the possibility of pain, rejection, fear, failure, insecurity and loneliness to let go and be carried away by this overwhelming hurricane of His love?
Taking shelter is safe and may preserve our life but surrendering our self to bend beneath the weight of His wind and mercy is where true life if found.