Flying on Instruments

I’m about to board an airplane in about an hour. I remind myself often that there are more deaths because of donkeys than airplanes. Am I wrong in thinking that donkeys aren’t dangerous? We all have heard of stories about airplanes going down. Sometimes however, a pilot becomes a hero as he brings down a load of passengers safety. Weather can cause poor visibility and pilots sometimes have to learn to fly based on instruments alone. There is no time to wonder if the altimeter is correct, because futures are on the line.

2 Corinthians 5:7 jumped out today to me, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” In KJV and ESV the verse is placed in parenthesis, but this is far more than an after thought. Often times I have ideas in my mind of what is best. I think I can see into the future and determine what going to benefit me, and even God, most. In times like that I need to remind myself that I am just a sheep in need of a Shepherd. I don’t know much about sheep, but I do know that they like to wander and get into trouble. Paul reminds us that we need to walk my faith, not by sight. In this dark and dreary world, we need the word of God to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalms 119:105). Walk in the word according to the will of God and move when He moves.

A picture of this is evident with the children of Israel in the wilderness. They would be lead by the Lord with fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 13:21-22, 40:38). When the cloud stopped, so would the people. When the pillar of fire moved on, so would the people. Traveling through the desert at the timing and will of God.

We need to constantly be reminded that God always has things in control. The Lord reminds Habakkuk of this in 2:4 when he is wondering why the Lord would have a wickeder nation than Israel capture them. The prospering of the wicked troubled him greatly. “The just shall live by his faith” is what the Lord told Habakkuk.

This is the same faith that we were saved by. Where does our faith go? It was so strong in salvation’s day, committing our souls and lives to the Lord (Romans 1:17). We know that the law didn’t justify our souls; it was by faith (Galatians 3:11). We need that same faith in our daily walk, trusting that He will meet our every need (Matthew 25:34).

If the skies are all clear and the weather beautiful, we still need to trust the Lord. Life is wonderful when the Lord has blessed us for trusting Him with everything. In stormy times we need to learn to fly on instruments. Unlike the products of man, what God has promised will never fail. We are never promised a smooth flight through Christian life, but what we are promised is that He will meet our needs through never leaving us or forsaking us (Hebrews 13:5).