Book the Flight

I unwrapped my piece of chocolate, ready to savor the taste of the morsel inside and also curious about what words would be found inscribed across the wrapper. What I read made me laugh. It said, “book the flight.”

If only.
Months before, I had done just that. I had tried to book a flight for another overseas expedition, and then COVID-19 had entered our lives. Oh, how I wished I could get on a plane and soar above the clouds, leaving all this craziness in our world on the ground below. But as far as I could see, there would be no flights in my near future. Normally I would read the quote and then throw it away, but this time something compelled me to save it. There was something about it; something about those words that gave me hope. And something deep inside that said if I hung on to the belief that I could soon book a flight somewhere, then maybe just maybe I could make it through this time of uncertainty we have been living in together over the past year.

But the more I thought about those three words, the more I became convinced that the Holy Spirit had a deeper meaning for me in them. It wasn’t necessarily a literal flight I was supposed to book; it was a mental one. It was choosing to go higher than what I could currently see in front of me. It was taking a step of faith. And it was walking into the unknown, not knowing where that might lead. Booking the flight simply meant doing that next thing, even if the next thing seemed scary or hard or impossible.

As I pondered those words, I thought a lot about flight. I know a lot of people are uneasy about flying, but to me, there is just something about that moment when you break through the clouds and see things from a different perspective. Sometimes that is exactly what we have to do in life as well. We may face turbulence and resistance while stationary and attempting to lift off, but when we finally experience that breakthrough, we see everything differently. When you are in the air you can see above the horizon. You can see for miles and you have such a different vantage point than before. And in the process you go somewhere; you end up in a totally different place. I think the trouble though is that too often it is much easier to stay grounded where we are than to have the courage to go somewhere else or do something different. I am certainly not immune to this. I'm writing it to myself as much as to you because if I'm honest, I cling to safety and security and what I can see; but in that, I never really go anywhere. Seeing is such a great gift and yet such a hindrance to our daily trust.

I recently read a powerful book that included this statement: “What I was seeing wasn’t all that was happening. Past seasons where I have seen God’s faithfulness remind me that I don’t always see God working in the midst of my hard days...most of the time it is thousands of little shifts so slight that the dailiness of His work doesn’t register in real-time. God is intervening and weaving and working, but our human eyes can’t detect it. God isn’t oblivious to what is happening. I don’t know what He is doing. And I don’t know how and when I will start to see Him move. But I do know His silence is not proof of His absence. And my broken perception is not evidence of His broken promise” (TerKeusrt, Lysa, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget).

I see a lot of parallels in flying on an airplane and in the words Lysa TerKeurst used to describe our lives. When we fly we can’t see every single movement or control every aspect of it. We can’t see what the pilot is doing or how the plane works or the little movements it has to make in order to stay in the air and perfectly function. We just have to trust.
And just like putting our faith in the hands of the pilot, we can also decide to put it in the hands of the Creator. He lets us choose. He lovingly waits for us to step aboard, but also kindly points out the exits. It's up to us.

My last few devotions have had the same theme of courage, which on paper sounds amazing, but in your heart, you kind of secretly wonder what is on the horizon that you will need to muster that courage for. Taking steps is not always easy, but without them, we never go anywhere. I'm not sure what this looks like for you. Some of us need the courage to say yes, or perhaps, to say no. You may need the courage to stand up for what is right even if you are standing alone. Maybe you need the courage to venture into the unknown and to try something different. Or perhaps you need the courage to stay and to do it again when it seems like nothing is changing in your situation. I feel convinced that this is a message I am supposed to pass along, so let me encourage you with those same words I received as you think about this new year and all it may hold for you. Have the courage to book the flight-whatever that looks like for you in this current season of life. Take a higher ground approach in your thoughts and in your choices and in everything you do. And take those next steps. You never know where the journey might take you.

-Only Hope

"We may not always know God's will, but we can always walk in God's ways. That means that even if we don't know what is next for our lives, we continue to obey God and what He has called us to RIGHT NOW!" (God's Plan For Your Life Bible App Plan by Switch)