Renee and I were on a flight from London to South Africa, this past week. As we approached Johannesburg, we looked out the window but there was nothing to see. The sky was overcast and there was zero visibility. While we were discussing this, the pilot announced for the cabin crew to get ready for final descent. It seemed that from the pilot’s vantage point there was no issue with visibility. He was about to land the plane. Although there was much turbulence as we continued to lose altitude, the plane was landed safely.
This had me thinking about our life as Christians. There are times that we would not be able to see what is happening around us. The lack of visibility tends to create significant levels of uncertainty and turbulence in life causes added levels of discomfort. But if we are on the right plane, with Jesus as our pilot, we would have the assurance of a safe landing.
I have learnt that our Christian experience is not subject to physical realities. While things in our natural life would have significant impact on our thoughts and feelings, we must be able to somehow distinguish between what exists naturally and what we are called to be and do. God's Word clearly teaches that "we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7).
The ability to truly walk by faith comes as a result of our maturity in Christ. Faith in God is fueled by the Word of God and is sustained through an unreserved commitment to truly trust Him. As we grow and develop further in Christ, this truth becomes more and more evident to us. Our time in Christ teaches us how to live by new realities. We can no longer depend on mere visible, audible or tangible stimuli. These do not always provide the right direction to our thoughts, feelings and, most importantly, decisions. We must intentionally take quality steps of faith to successfully traverse this life.
Faith, then, must be our navigation system that guides us through life's journey, unto the fulfilment of God's perfect will. May the grace, peace and blessings of Almighty God be with you as you continue in faith.