Craig Clouston

 

Led Astray

February 9

I am afraid that…your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3

The passengers received no advanced warning before the plane dropped out from under them, falling more than 1000 feet in less than six seconds. All they knew was they had free-fallen for what felt like an eternity before the floor returned under their feet, and the plane leveled off; it wasn’t something they cared to repeat.

The pilot’s subsequent apology did little to calm their fears, “I am sorry for any anxiety this unexpected event may have caused,” he said, then continued, “Our auto-pilot has malfunctioned, causing the sudden drop in elevation. We have assumed manual control of the aircraft and will be returning to Scottsdale. We thank you for your patience.”

Concern among the passengers now turned to unrest. What if another system failed?! The audible lament from several frightened individuals did little to bring comfort to the rest of the passengers.

Fortunately though, nothing else failed, and twenty-five minutes later they were safely on the ground. A little apprehensive, but overjoyed the malfunction hadn’t resulted in catastrophic consequences, they were shuttled to another plane where they continued on to their intended destination.

†

Systems fail; sometimes without warning. We can be cruising through life, on auto-pilot, not paying close attention to the course we’re on until a malfunction occurs, and find ourselves in the midst of a serious situation. Knowing what to do and taking corrective action is critical. But taking preventive measures is better by far.

By tending to our spiritual flight-plan before we encounter rough weather may not assure us of avoiding turbulence, but we will certainly be better prepared to deal with temporary system failure.

Where are you headed? The wise person takes time to map out their flight-plan before taking off. Detours and unexpected problems are inevitable, but if we have a plan going in we stand a much better chance of surviving an in-flight glitch. Avoid disaster, and register your flight-plan today.

Prayer

“Lord, help me not to carelessly wander through life on auto-pilot. Show me the course You have mapped out for me and help me stay on it. And when I stray off course, gently guide me back. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”