A number of years ago I found myself traveling from the Midwest to New Jersey. I arrived in Milwaukee to catch my connecting flight to Newark, only to discover that a major winter storm had paralyzed the eastern seaboard. As I gazed as the flight board I saw the dreaded CANCELLED on every flight to the east coast save one: mine! I was, of course, quite excited that I would still get home on time. My excitement disappeared, however, when our flight encountered the storm head on. We hit so much turbulence that the overhead compartments opened and luggage flew everywhere. The majority of the passengers ended up using the “courtesy bags {aka barf bags} because things were so shaky. As we came in for our landing I watched the plane’s wings move haphazardly up and down, and I started wondering if we would make it. We seemingly hit the tarmac ok, and then suddenly began to slide. The plane actually slid out of control, doing a 180 before finally coming to a rest. Once I realized I was not going to die I became very curious as to what kind of pilot a} thought it was a good idea to take off b} thought it was a good idea to continue through the storm and c} thought it was wise to land on a sheet of ice. The cockpit opened to reveal a fresh-faced young buck of a captain whose jacket was about 3 sizes to big. He grinned a “I can’t wait to tell the fellas” grin, and we all thankfully exited the plane. I share this because, like it or not, we are going to face our share of turbulence in this new year, 2024. The question is, how to survive turbulence in our lives?
Lots of times, our lives resemble that airplane ride as we feel constantly tossed and turned about, worried that we are going to crash and burn at any moment. Often times in those moments we are quick to blame God for our predicament, or to even doubt his existence. Here’s what I want us to all ask ourselves today: who is really at the controls of our lives? Are we letting God pilot our life, or have we locked the cockpit door and are trying to pilot our life through turbulence we are ill prepared for? Checkout these challenging, yet hopeful, words from Psalm 143:
Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
Let your good Spirit lead me
on level ground!
For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!
In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! Psalm 143:9-11
We are going to fly through turbulence in life. What we need to decide is whether we are going to attempt piloting through it ourselves, or instead turn the cockpit over to God. Here’s the reality friends: when we turn the controls of our life over to God he will guide us, deliver us, teach us, and love us through whatever it is we are going through. Surrender the controls, and let our loving God lead you through the storms of life.
