Tickets, please.

I love to fly.  I’ve been in jets, small private planes, and even a free-float hot air balloon.  Something birds take for granted, I suppose, but for me, being up in the air is exhilarating. 

I’m not a pilot, however, so I reap the benefit of their knowledge and expertise.  My oldest brother is a pilot and has a couple of small aircraft up in Minnesota.  One year when visiting up there, he took me up for a look-see around the area with all those beautiful lakes and lush countryside.  We took off and landed on a dirt runway, and he even let me take control to actually “fly” the plane. 

That lasted about ten seconds while I freaked out.

He also told me not to worry, but since my door was partially open, and would I please full it shut and latch it?  Sure, no problem.

I still love flying.

We had a pilot come speak to our church a while back.  Seeing some of what my brother does and listening to this speaker gives me a greater appreciation of the skill set needed to be safely airborne.  For example, this guy says that when flying into and out of a storm, it’s important to check your course with something called the “magnetic compass” because your other directional instrument might have gotten messed up in the storm.

In other words, you’re still in the sky but you’re very possibly off your intended course, no matter what it “looks like”.

Pretty great analogy he was making.

Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom,
    but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.

Going through rough circumstances can make one re-evaluated a lot of things, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  It is, however, important how I interpret those circumstances.  Difficult times can easily knock me off course—I’m still in the air, but off my flight plan.  And being off course even a “little bit” will eventually take me way off my intended destination.

That’s when my eyes can begin to “wander to the ends of the earth” looking for whatever destination I thought I was traveling to, but good grief!  How did I end up here?!

Which is why a “true north compass” is so important. (And not just in stormy times, because let’s face it, even when life seems to be going well, it’s easy to get off course more subtlety.)  God gives me His true north compass in His Son, Jesus…

 “In him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

…as well as much needed course corrections:

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

…with secure unchangeables:

“The grass withers and the flowers fade,
    but the word of our God stands forever.”

…and flight plan?  No problem.  It’s written in, you know, blood.

Proverbs 17:24; Colossians 2:3; Romans 12:2; Isaiah 40:8  Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.