REFLECTIONS
September21, 2008
From the Archives of April 24, 2005
 
 
He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"
Matthew 8:26 NKJV
 
 
The Ultimate Pilot…
 
            Recently I found myself with a full two hours to kill in the airport before my scheduled flight. I enjoy watching people though, so I took my seat in the waiting area and settled in for a long session of people watching.
            After a short time I had made assessments of the lives of most of the people in the waiting area. I didn’t know any of them, but in my mind I could read their emotions and I felt like I had gained insights into their lives. I was content and stress free. I knew it would not be long before my flight time and I would board the plane and head for home.
            When that time came, I routinely boarded the plane and nestled into my seat. As I settled inside that long cylinder that would jettison me home, I could see the heads of the people I had been studying in the waiting area. I shared little with any of them except a destination and an apparent lack of concern for the safety of the flight. Yet, from our seats none of us could see what might lie ahead. We could not see if there were storms before us, or if the sun was setting, or if there were obstacles in our path. Neither could we see the pilot seated in the cockpit, but we had faith in his presence and we found peace that his hands were on the controls to deliver us safely home.
            In my day-to-day life, I become pretty stressed when I can’t see ahead at the obstacles that lie before me and have my hands on the controls. It’s strange isn’t it how we can have such confidence in ourselves most of the time, in other people some of the time, and have such little faith in God. After all, He is the Ultimate Pilot. Though we may not see Him seated in the cockpit, He takes us with people we never met, to places we could not go, over obstacles we could not climb.
            With faith in His presence, we find peace that His hands are on the controls to deliver us safely Home.
           
You are the light of the world,
Richard Ì