Years ago I heard a recording of a pilot in a light plane who had been caught unexpectedly in heavy cloud. He had to rely on his instruments but struggled to trust the dials when his own senses seemed to tell him something different.
The pilot spoke with someone at a control tower and called for help. He was instructed to trust his dials but the pilot felt certain they must be wrong. The steady, patient voice of the flight controller kept instructing the pilot to trust the controls on the instrument panel but the pilot became increasingly alarmed and almost hysterical before the call ended abruptly.
The pilot could have lived, if only he had trusted the instrument panel. However, despite learning to fly by instruments, he preferred to rely on his senses and had probably avoided relying on his instruments until this time when he had no choice. His internal instincts were given priority over the instruments on the panel. So, he crashed.
The pilot had not come to place his full faith in the instrument panel. He put his faith in his own senses above his trust in the external reference point that was designed to save his life. He trusted in himself and that cost him his life.
That struggle between our own senses and some external input is very real to Christians. The Bible instructs us to do things that are counter-intuitive. God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. In fact, they are much higher than ours. Much more reliable and based on truth, not human perspective.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8,9
God’s ways include such things as forgiving offenders and loving our enemies. Neither of those things come naturally to people.
“I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” Matthew 5:44,45
The ‘instrument panel’ tells us to do those things but our natural instinct is toward being offended, being unforgiving, wanting vengeance and so on.
And it is the same way in other areas of life too, such as not resisting evil.
“If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.” Luke 6:29
While most of us want things to be under control and well thought out in advance, Jesus taught us to trust God on a day to day basis, and not to be over organised in advance.
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34
We are actually told to put away all anxiety, not having a care about anything.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
Consider that God has an instrument panel in front of you as you go through life. It has a bunch of warning and instruction lights that light up in various circumstances. However, you have probably never learned to fly your life by God’s Instrument Panel, but more by your own gut feel and your own instincts.
Like the pilot mentioned earlier, you are in great danger if you do not pay attention to the instrument panel and the information it provides to you. Look at it and follow its instructions, otherwise you will crash into all kinds of problems.
Let me suggest to you a bunch of flashing lights you can expect to see on God’s instrument panel for your life…
“Only Believe”, “Have faith in God”, “In everything give thanks”, “Pray without ceasing”, “Forgive those who offend you, seventy times seven”, “Give and it will be given back to you, good measure, running over”, “Love your enemies”, “Do good to those who persecute you”, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God”, “Be kind to one another and tenderhearted”, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean on your own understanding”, “the way that seems right to you is the way of death”, “Flee fornication”, “Be holy”, “Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established”, “Love one another”, “Love the Lord your God with all your being”, “Hold fast to what you believe”.
Those instructions are just a sample but note that they all seem quite nice on the page. The challenge is whether you can rely on them when your own senses suggest they are off track. Remember that pilot who felt a miss-match between what was on the instrument panel and what he felt he perceived personally.
Can you be trusted to obey the Word of God when it cuts across what you think and feel would be the right response in a situation?
To help you answer that question let me ask you this. When was the last time you put aside your own ideas and did what God asks you to do, despite the fact that it wasn’t what you would have chosen to do?
If you can give several examples of you doing that, then you’ve learned how to fly through life’s difficulties relying on the instruments in front of you. If you can’t provide even one example, then you’ve done all your flying by your instincts, by the seat of your pants. That’s dangerous and it puts you outside the protection God’s Word provides.
I challenge you today to consciously and prayerfully look for an opportunity to put God’s Word ahead of your instincts and prove to yourself that you can fly by God’s Instrument Panel.
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