Faith In The Pilot.
To trust God is a little like trusting a pilot. We learn to trust the pilot as he is an expert. So shouldn’t it be easier to trust God?
A Predicament
Have you ever flown in a small plane? Has it been over isolated areas? I have done this a number of times but several stand out in my memory. As I look back on at least one of those times, I ask myself how did I ever get into that predicament.
I was young, engaged to be married, and finishing off teaching for a year in an isolated northern Saskatchewan community. In the fall, my new husband and I would head to an even more isolated community, accessible only by plane. Then I had the chance to go to Wollaston Lake for a weekend with a few other people from Deschambault. We would visit our friend who had transferred to the store in that new community.
An Engine That Wouldn’t Start
We arrived safely, hung out for a couple days and I saw the store, the community, and at least the outside of the school. Now it was time to head home and the pilot loaded our luggage on a Norseman bush plane for our return flight over miles and miles of uninhabited northern Saskatchewan.
We climbed aboard off the dock on to the float plane, fastened our seatbelts, and waited for the pilot to start the engines. He tried but nothing happened. He tried again and then got out of the plane, stood on the float and spun the propellor by hand. The engine roared to life, he jumped back in the plane, and taxied out into the bay.
We looked at other and then someone asked the question as the plane lifted into the air, “What happens if the engine stops mid-air. We can’t just pull over and wait to jump start the engine.”
His reply left us a bit speechless. “See all those lakes down there?”
We nodded and he continued, “We’ll just glide down and land on one of them. I’ll crank the prop and hopefully we’ll get airborne again. But don’t worry. Everything should be fine.”
Faith in the Pilot and the Machine
We had only one pilot. No other person on board knew anything about flying. We wondered about having faith in this piece of machinery and the person flying it – we didn’t know enough about him either. But we had no choice. We had committed by not getting off the plane when the first engine trouble began. The engine never stopped. We enjoyed the scenery of lakes, rivers, and forests from the safety of the skies and not crashing into one of them. The pilot knew his equipment, had years of experience flying bush planes, and got us home safely.
Yet we hear of plane crashes caused by pilot error and need to remember they are human and not infallible. We hear of times when there is a co-pilot, one trained to follow directions, to know the airplane, and to act in an emergency with a pilot.
In life – which seat are we in – the pilot’s or co-pilots seat?
Occupying the Pilot’s Seat
There are several reasons we try to occupy the pilot’s seat in our lives. The first one is we haven’t come to the point where we have accepted Jesus’ gift of salvation and we don’t realize there is one God who has a perfect plan for us and know all about us and the way we need to follow.
But even after we decide to follow Jesus, we like to hang on to the controls, believing God isn’t interested in the little details of our lives. We only go to him with the big things – the crisis, the things beyond our control, or as a last resort.
Self Reliance Can Be Contrary to the Word of God
We hear many messages in society that tell us we need to be self-sufficient, pull ourselves up by our boot straps, and don’t give in to anyone else. The shelves are lined with self-help books. Podcasts, TV programs, and other media tell us we can change ourselves. It is good to work hard and learn lots but being totally reliant on only ourselves is contrary to the Word of God.
We may never be ready to pilot an airplane or even be a co-pilot in one, but we know what it is like to take over the controls, or try to, in our lives.
Francis Chan wrote,
If we are the boss and give a task to an employee- a subordinate, How often do you worry and fret if the task will get done. If we do, how long will that person remain in our employ? But we often do that to God. We pray to him but don’t believe he will follow through and then take matters into our own hands.
God will succeed where we often fail. He cares about the big things, the tough things, and the little things. The choice to accept God as our pilot and move over to the co-pilots seat is up to us. God offers his help but we need to make our own choices.
Two Rich Men
Two rich men in the Bible, both wanting to speak to Jesus, both seeking him out, both wanting to know more about what Jesus had to offer. Let’s look at the rich young ruler in Luke 18. He had lived a good life. He had obeyed the commands to the best of his ability. He was a respected, rich young man When Jesus told him he needed to sell everything he had and follow it was too much and he walked away. Jesus asks us to surrender everything we are and have and do – is it too much ? It seems like it was for this rich young man.
Zaccheus & Our Choices
In Luke 19 we meet Zaccaheus. He was also rich and a tax collector which meant he was likely rich because of taking more than the government required and putting it into his own pocket. He was despised by other. No one liked the tax collectors. But wanted to see Jesus. He offered to surrender his wealth – to pay back four times what he had taken. He was willing to give all to follow Jesus.
Each man made a choice. What choice are we making? Are we surrendering all to Jesus and having faith in God as the pilot and moving out of the way, relinquishing the controls of our life and allowing him to fly our plane and make the puzzle pieces of our life make sense?
Do you find it difficult to trust God? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.
Carol Harrison
Listen to Carol’s program Puzzle Pieces Of Life or visit Carol’s website carolscorner.ca
Carol Harrison B.Ed is a speaker and published author with one book, Amee’s Story and stories in twelve anthologies. She is passionate about helping people of all ages and ability levels find their voice and reach their fullest potential.
She knows, through personal experience that some of life’s experiences are tougher than others. She encourages people that even in the twists and turns of life God’s amazing grace provides hope.
She lives in Saskatoon, SK with her husband Brian. They have four adult children and a dozen grandchildren.
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