Pilot VS Passenger Response To Problems
When you get some sudden news that rocks your inner world, what’s your first response?
Freak out or focus in?
Maybe some of both?
I’ve done every variation, you too?
Think about some movies you’ve seen when a plane is in serious trouble.
Maybe they’ve hit turbulence and an engine starts to go.
The aircraft is pitching left to right, up and down, unable to remain stable.
Then the faulty engine fully dies and the plane begins to descend.
The passengers panic, cry, and scream. Even though they’ve all heard the safety demo dozens of times in their lives, any memory of it vanishes in the light of a real emergency.
The pilots, however, are different.
They have alarms screeching in their ears.
Red warning lights blinking everywhere.
Their instruments are going berserk.
They can hear the passengers in an uproar behind them.
Pilots might have some fear but it doesn’t inform their decisions.
They focus on their goal: trying to land the plane and save as many people as possible.
They systematically go through the checklists they learned during their training. They have done it so many times you could almost call it habit or reflex.
They have trained themselves to ACT in the midst of chaos.
The type of fear that gets you to either freeze or freak out is one of the enemy’s biggest schemes.
So what do we do when we get news that knocks the wind out of our lungs and we don’t know how we can continue? Or how the mess will get resolved? When hopelessness creeps in and wants to devour us?
How do we have a pilot vs passenger response?
I’m going to give you the checklist. Remember that Satan will have a scheme for EACH of these steps because he wants you to crash.
#1 Call for help.
A pilot would immediately alert an air traffic controller that they needed help. I would equate that with prayer. The two words “God, HELP” all by itself is a powerful prayer! Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
A pilot would also let the stewards on the flight know what's going on. Talk to at least one friend. The enemy will tell you not to bother your friends or that you can handle this yourself. WRONG. He wants you to stay isolated because he can just keep beating you down that way without anyone knowing until the plane crashes. I WANT my friends to tell me what’s going on. I’m going to recognize that scheme and do the opposite so I can have at least one friend stand with me in prayer.
#2 Praise.
Paul and Silas’ praises in prison made their chains fall off.
The Israelites gave shouts of praise and the walls of Jericho fell.
I promise you I'm not making this suggestion flippantly. I have done this. I’m not saying it’s easy, I'm saying it works! I have been in so much physical pain I thought “I really should have passed out by now.” I redirected my thoughts. I knew I needed to not focus on pain.
Psalm 103: 2-6
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He renewed my strength. I felt encompassed by His love and compassion. He has worked righteousness and justice for how I've been oppressed by illness.
However you are being oppressed by circumstances God WILL work out justice for you. He promises us that.
#3 Keep going no matter how it looks.
God can create what He wishes out of nothing. He doesn’t “run out of time,” the way we think we do in a situation. He exists outside of time.
Your roller coaster life might actually be getting you to where God wants you to be FASTER than if you didn’t have the turbulence.
Here’s a super short video showing what I mean:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIthJB2zQiA&ab_channel=TechPlanet
It might be foggy, you’ve got one engine and only one wheel. You think you can’t “land” this thing and save the people on board. Keep going. God can make the fog lift at ANY moment.
These are the moments you have to remember your purpose the most. Otherwise we quit.
Proverbs 4:23
Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
The Hebrew word for heart in this verse means your will, intellect and emotions. The phrase “springs of life” in Hebrew means aliveness, freshness, and strength.
We don’t let the fearful things we see inform our will, intellect, and emotions. We guard those and trust God is good and He will work this out for His glory.
Would you add anything to this checklist?
Keep going my friends!! Ask God to help you land that plane and save everyone on board.
In passionate purpose,
Dorothy