Safe Landing

When I married Adventure Boy (Craig), he came with an airplane, a motorcycle, and a riding lawn mower.

“Babe-a-licious,” he said to me one day (that’s what he called me), “it’s absolutely ridiculous for you to own a vehicle you don’t know how to operate. So I’m going to teach you to fly!”

That sounded like more fun than it was.

Staying Safe

Part of the required training to get a private pilot’s license includes stalling the engine till you feel as though you’re falling out of the sky, making dizzyingly tight turns without losing a foot of altitude, doing so many takeoffs and landings your ears permanently plug, and learning to navigate by triangulating topical maps.

But then there was night flying.

Oh, friend, there is nothing quite like floating above the earth’s twinkling lights with the moon hanging above you.

It’s quite glorious.

Nighttime landings at small airports require pilots to rely on their instruments and the runway lights to guide them down safely.

If you come in too low or too slow, you splat. Too high or too hot, you overshoot. But if you execute procedures correctly, you’ll follow the path of white runway lights to safety.

When you’re making a landing, especially in the dark, you have no room for improvisation or personal preference. There is no margin for bad judgment— you must do the training and follow the procedures to stay safe.

Discerning God’s Will

Similarly, the principles that get pilots on the ground safely hold true for landing safely inside (or discerning) God’s will and leading.

Spiritual discernment comes through studying Scripture and listening in prayer. Thankfully, the Bible provides a lot of direction for us—in the way we live, in how we relate to others.

But sometimes it doesn’t get to the specific issue you may be facing…

• whether to stay in your job
• or take a new one across the country
• whether you should buy a particular house
• or stay in the one you have
• or whether you should homeschool your children.

In those cases, the only reasonable solution is to ask God to direct you through listening prayer.

Good news! He will. Speaker and Bible study teacher Priscilla Shirer says it well:

“Do you really think God loves you enough to die for you

but doesn’t love you enough to talk to you?”

Confirmation Questions

As you pray for guidance or answers and sense God leading, confirm it by asking these questions:

1. Is this leading consistent with God’s nature?
2. Is what I’m sensing specifically addressed in the Bible?
3. Do the circumstances line up with Scripture?
4. Has the solution come up in random conversations with people I trust?
5. Have people who love me and love God affirmed this leading?
6. Does the answer bring me comfort, assurance, and peace?

If you can answer “yes” to these questions, then you can proceed with confidence.

As you look to the heavens for answers, guidance, and leading, you can confirm that what you’re hearing is from God. Trust me when I say that confirmation will keep you from a painful splatting.

How has God been leading you lately? Leave me a comment— I’d love to hear what He’s showing you about Himself!

 Verse

Prayer

Lord, I know you only want what is best for me, even if that means change. Confirm your leading to me and give me the courage to take action on what you ask. Verify each step of the way. In Jesus’ name, amen.