Ready for Takeoff?!

Every choir director I have known has used word pictures to help get a musical technique across. In most cases, the word picture helped tremendously to teach me a better way, or the right way, to perform. For instance: sing as if you are putting something down on a shelf rather than reaching up to put something on it, for in doing so, the note will sound flat. So, visualizing this illustration helps keep the singer on pitch.

After months of not being in a full church service (feeding a little one, working in nursery, being sick), this past Sunday was SO refreshing. I was able to sit through two full church services and felt like a sponge. The extra blessing was that I was able to hear a pastoral candidate for our church, which has been without a pastor since January. One phrase he used in his sermon launched me into a word picture that I cannot get out of my mind. The phrase was this, "You should be running to God multiple times a day."

When a pilot takes off from the airport, he typically follows a set flight path and relies on a very important person throughout the flight. That person resides in the control tower and is known as the air traffic controller (ATC). "The primary purpose of the ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other support for pilots when able. Depending on the type of flight and class of airspace, ATC may issue instructions that pilots are required to follow, or merely flight information to assist pilots operating in the airspace. In all cases, however, the pilot in command has final responsibility for the safety of the flight, and may deviate from ATC instructions in an emergency." (source: Wikepedia)

What might happen if the pilot did not check in with the air traffic controller during the flight? He could very well miss some critical or even life-saving information that could change the outcome of the flight. What if the pilot decided to forego the instructions of the ATC, thinking that he had a better plan? He could very well end up off course and somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. What if the pilot flipped the switch and put the aircraft on "automatic pilot?" Again, the pilot may miss some very important detail that was necessary for a successful flight.

Personally, I think of autopilot as it relates to flying. The www.freedictionary.com defines autopilot in two ways. The first definition is the one that immediately came to mind and refers to the navigational device that keeps ships, planes, or spacecraft on course. However, the second definition is where I find myself far too often. "a state of mind in which one acts without deliberate effort or self-awareness."

How many times have I started the day with quiet time and good intentions, only to allow the busyness of life take over. There are two children in our home, which means constant activity and routines, laundry, dishes, cooking, church responsibilities, household responsibilities, projects, etc. None of this is meant to be a complaint, but rather a simple stating of the obvious. Often, it is in the quiet of the evening, when everyone is asleep, that I begin to replay the day in my mind and shamefully realize my failures.

In no way am I comparing God or diminishing God to "air traffic controller", but here is my word picture in action. If I don't "run to God multiple times a day" or check in with my Control Tower, I may miss some critical of life-saving information for the day. If I try to usurp the air traffic controller, thinking that I might know a better plan or way, I may end up off course. And, the worst of all is if I stay on "autopilot" all day, failing to recognize that an air traffic controller even exists. None of this is what I want.

The best part of this word picture for me is that God is my heavenly "High Tower." Unlike a typical air traffic controller in a control tower, my God doesn't get stressed out trying to direct my steps. He doesn't give me faulty information that could lead me off course. He is able and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And, He doesn't make any mistakes. He may allow me to crash and burn to teach me something, but if I choose to give God control each day, He may allow me to "soar with wings as eagles (Is. 40:31)."

"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

my God, my strength, in which I will trust;

my buckler, and the horn of my salvation,

and my high tower" (Ps. 18:2).

"For thou hast been a shelter for me,

and a strong tower from the enemy" (Ps. 61:3).

"My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower,

and my deliverer, my shield,

and he in whom I trust;

who subdueth my people under me" (Ps. 144:2).

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower:

the righteous runneth into it, and is safe (Prov. 18:10).

I know Who will come to mind the next time I hear an airplane.