Enjoy the Flight

I was again on an airplane, ready for a flight.

As we taxied to the end of the runway, the pilot announced we were about ready to take off. “Make sure everything is put away and tighten your seat belts.” I started to think, I have no idea who this man is. I have never seen him, I do not know his name, I do not know where he came from, his training, or anything about him.

Yet I am trusting my life to him. He may fly me over oceans, mountains, and deserts, and I am trusting him. As the flight began to take off, he made a few more announcements and then said, “So just sit back, relax, and enjoy the flight.” It turned out to be quite a bumpy ride. I had to trust not only the pilot but the structure of the plane itself, but obviously, I arrived at my destination. One time on a transpacific flight, a young woman sat next to me. I found out that she was not a Christian. We hit a patch of seriously turbulent air, and after we hit a particularly hard jolt, she exclaimed, “Oh God!” I turned to her and said, “Yes, that is who you should be talking to. That is who I trust.” In Psalm 56:3, we read, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” (NIV). Every day we place our trust in so many people and things: elevators, medical personnel and the medications they prescribe, church leaders, family, fire alarms—the list goes on and on! Who and what do I trust? I wonder, Can I apply that to my Christian experience? The hard part comes when we have to decide between one or more options.

When I get on an airplane, I cannot choose the pilot.

But when I decide what to buy or study, which career or spouse to choose, the decision-making gets harder. That is when we have to pray, seek God’s Word, and ask for advice from those we trust and who follow the Lord. Then we can “trust in the LORD” with all our hearts, and “not depend” on our “own understanding. Seek his will in all” we do, “and he will show” us “which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5, 6, NLT). Otherwise, we are likely to get in trouble. As Job said, some things we trust in are as fragile as a spider’s web (Job 8:14, NIV).

Put your trust in the only One who can always be trusted, then sit back and enjoy the ride.

Ardis Dick Stenbakken