I took a trip to Idaho last week to visit some amazing people there who are starting a new church. I have never been to that part of the country before, so it was my very first time getting to see God's beauty like that. From the plane I noticed the amazing mountains, and then little to my surprise, where I stayed was surrounded by those same mountains. One of the little girl's that I met while visiting the church said "the mountains protect us"....interesting. Of course my brain was in "blog-mode" as I was leaving Boise, so naturally I noticed one of the most amazing things on my flight out, that I feel compelled to share with you this morning.
My first flight left Boise about 6:30 am and flew to Salt Lake City (about 45 minutes) and then from there I headed home. During my first short flight, it was still pitch black dark outside-too early for the sun. As we were in the air, the light of the sun (not the sun itself) decided to make an appearance. I didn't think anything of it at all. All I really had on my mind was the extreme turbulence we had been experiencing the whole time. We were flying through nothing but thick could coverage. Clouds that made a line it seemed like. At the top of the line, where we were as I noticed this, it was light and you could see the amazing view of the tips of the mountains. It was so serene and beautiful that I thought to myself "this must be what Heaven is like!" But every now and then our small plane would fly just below the clouded line, where it was still pitch black dark, and all you could see were the bottoms of the mountains. "WHOA!" I thought to myself as I looked out the window, "did I just see that?"
Back up we went for a few minutes, in the light, near the tops of the mountains, and then the captain came on to announce our descent. "Surely, it will be light when we land." And it wasn't. We descended from light and from beauty and from the tops of the mountains....to darkness, the bottom of a valley, to the bustling and waking up of the busy busy world.
I can't help but think this is what our walk with God looks like so often. One season we are flying above the clouds, at the top of a mountain or spiritual high, covered in light. And the next we are surrounded by darkness because we made a descent that leaves us wondering "how did we get here?" and we seem as far away from the top of the mountain as ever. I think, though, that the most important part of this picture God showed me on the plane ride, is the TURBULENCE.
We had to cross a line of clouds that shook us and jumbled us in order to go down. This is awareness. Recognizing the things in your life that you are doing or surrounding yourself with that are shaking you to your core, and ultimately leading you to your descent. Turbulence is inevitable for the way down. Those who are in tune with living the lifestyle God wants you to live, should recognize the turbulence when things get off kilter-those things shake us so that we straighten back up and fly above the clouds. But just like there is turbulence on the way down, there is also turbulence on the way up. A presence of spirits who do not want you to successfully be at the top of that mountain. They are shaking us, tempting us, taunting us, mocking us, and most importantly, deceiving us. Turbulence. You feel it on the way up, and you feel it on the way down.
During that short 45 minute flight, was one of the only times as a plane riding passenger I really remember feeling such turbulence. And in the safety and comfort of this metaphor God was placing in my head I remember thinking "this pilot is trained and knows exactly what to do. I trust him.".....and after that, the shaking and the bumps and the jerking, didn't really bother me as much. If God is in control, true control, of our lives...then shouldn't we trust him during our turbulence? Shouldn't we take into account that He knows what He is doing, and even though we can't see Him, if we surrender to Him, He will successfully guide our plane to it's rightful destination?
Don't let the turbulence throw you this week. I encourage you to take a look at the things shaking up your life, and pray about them. Figure out if it's the enemy trying to get you to descend into the valley using your own weaknesses against you. Or maybe it is simply you getting in your own way. Whatever it happens to be, rest assured that you are a child of God and He is flying your plane, preparing you for a life of kingdom serving until one day He can take you home.
