This I Believe

GOD IS MY…

“God is my co-pilot”.

“If God is your co-pilot, change seats”.

These are both catchy phrases, but they don’t work for me. I don’t see my God as a co-pilot: sitting there, not doing much unless I’m in trouble, then jumping in to rescue me. I don’t see my God as a pilot either, taking care of everything so that I just sit back and relax.

God gave us free will. We have the God-given right to screw up our lives if we want to. If God is driving, how can we make mistakes? If he’s the pilot, we don’t have to make decisions, he makes them all. If he’s our co-pilot, he jumps in and corrects things when we mess up.

Neither is the way my God works with me. Mine is an Air Traffic Controller. He gave me this plane and taught me how to fly it. Now I’m on my own, with his voice to direct me. Sometimes I listen, sometimes I don’t. But when I don’t listen, I have to accept the consequences. And believe me, I’ve had some spectacular crashes!

But my God picks me up, dusts me off, and puts me back in the air. Each time, I learn to listen to him better. He doesn’t punish me for disobeying. The consequences of my actions take care of that. I’ve crashed enough times to learn a few lessons.

I never know when I’m going to hear from him. Usually, when I least expect it. I’m flying along, making good time, and suddenly the radio crackles into life. “Whoa girl! What do you think you’re doing? Slow it down now. Good girl. Change your heading about 10 degrees to the right. No, not the left, I said to the right! That’s better. Now bring your nose up and hold it steady. Good job. Hold your course, and you’ll be fine.”

That’s how I run my life. I can pick up the mike and call for directions anytime I need to. I check in at least once a day, just to make sure I’m still on course. I file my flight plans, and he lets me know the weather. Sometimes, I want to go somewhere badly enough that I fly out, storm or not. Occasionally I make it, but it rarely turns out to be what I expected. So, I go back and file a new flight plan.

Sometimes, I fly straight into a mountain. That’s when he picks me up and puts me in another plane.

Because he really does want me to fly.

END