I once talked to a pilot friend of mine who described how he lands his plane in a deep fog. He told me he has got to be extremely alert as he guides his plane on what he called Instrument Flight Rules (IFR).It’s a thick fog out there… he’s flying blind, so the pilot must be totally dependent on his instruments and the signals from the control tower. His ears are on alert… he’s scanning his instrument panel. He’s being extra careful to respond to directions: check altimeter, check air speed, check flaps, yaw, pitch, navigation indicators, radar, check speed again. Suddenly the fog lifts, the pilot sees the runway beneath his plane, and the landing is smooth and safe.
But the next day, when the sky is clear, the pilot comes in for a landing on what is called Visual Flight Rules because he can easily spot the landing strip ahead, so the pilot isn’t glued to all the gauges. He’s not quite as alert as he was in the fog. As a result, the pilot comes in a bit too fast, which might make for a bumpy landing. The apparent ease of using Visual Flight Rules caused the pilot to be a little more lax, when he should have been just as watchful.
I tell you – there’s a pretty useful lesson in there for us. Because you know as well as I that often we go through life “flying blind.” God sends a fog our way and we find ourselves unable to discern what’s ahead. Suddenly our spiritual senses are on alert, though, it’s pretty murky out there. God allows this so we will pay closer attention to the way we are flying through life. He wants us to use his gauges; that is, His Word… He wants us to depend on Him through prayer.
It’s a little like 2 Corinthians 12:7 where the apostle says, “To keep me from being conceited… there was given me a thorn in the flesh…” In other words, to keep me from becoming lax and spiritually lazy, to keep me “on the alert,” there was given to me a thorn, a trial, a trouble, a fog, a confusion… and that helped me to reach for the Word and for the lifeline of prayer.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to get a little panicky when things feel cloudy and murky. When my thoughts are confused, I have to live my life on Instrument Flight Rules. I think: check mission, check attitude, check source of strength, have I prayed? Check. Am I in the Word? Check. Am I listening for God's promptings? Check. Check perspective on the day, check, check. If I don’t live life using Scripture and prayer – God's Instrument Flight Rules – I know it will be a hard landing at the end of a bumpy day.
So what about you? Are you feeling under the fog today? Things a bit hazy and confusing? Then it’s a good day for Instrument Flight Rules, ’cause nobody should be flying blind. Make doubly sure in this foggy world you are dependent on prayer and His Word. It’ll guide you through the day to a safe landing at night.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends