You Were Made For The Sky

Leaving the Ground

I vividly remember the first time I flew in an airplane. I was a teenager traveling to Miami to visit my older, cooler sister. The sky was dark and overcast when I boarded the plane in upstate New York. After sitting for quite some time, the plane finally started down the runway.

The only thing that concerned me was the take-off. Someone had told me that the riskiest part of flying was taking off. I recall the plane picking up speed and going faster and faster.

It wasn’t until then that the reality of what was happening hit me (classic teenager – doesn’t get it until it slaps them in the face): this giant mass of metal, carrying a hundred-plus people was speeding down a road with the intention of LEAVING the runway and lifting (hopefully) into the sky! The SKY! With nothing but air and clouds to hold it up?! (A simple science lesson prior to the flight might have eased my mind a bit.)

We picked up more speed. Slowly my stomach sunk deep into my back as we lifted off the ground.

The plane ascended. As we broke through the thick layer of clouds the sky became blue and clear.

I was surprised to discover that once we were above the clouds, the safe and sturdy ground became small, distant and seemingly meaningless.

Planes Are Made To Fly

Several years ago, my pastor preached a sermon I plan on never forgetting. He talked about this very topic and in doing so, he compared us as Christians to airplanes. He elaborated on the fact that airplanes are specifically designed to fly.

He said:

“You could play it safe and stay on the ground, but then you’d never get to do what you were made to do!”

See, in the same way a plane has been equipped to fly, we have been equipped for BRAVERY!

For the Christ follower, playing it safe is like a plane driving down the highway. You’d look at it and think, “does that plane know what it was made to do?”

In Pauls second letter to Timothy he says:

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

God has not equipped us for fear or timidity! No, just the opposite. Through his Spirit we have been filled with power, love and self-control! The HCSB uses the word ‘sound judgment.’ I like that. It’s a reminder that being courageous doesn’t mean throwing out all reason!

Paul is reminding Timothy that the Holy Spirit has given us all the necessary qualities of being brave. We are each designed by God to fly!

Let It Go

Often, in order to move forward (or in this case UP) we need to be willing to leave the safety of the ground.

In order to walk on water and bravely step towards Jesus, Peter needed to get out of his boat. Peter needed to leave behind the safety of the boat in order to move forward.

I love Isaiah 43. In this chapter, God is talking about doing a NEW thing. He says,

“Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past, behold, I’m doing a new thing.”

God had recounted the events that had already taken place and said that this ‘New Thing’ will not be like the old events. In fact, the passage strongly implies that if one is looking for the future to be along the same lines as the past, they may miss the ‘New Thing’ God will do! (Side note: That is exactly what happened. The Pharasees who knew the Law and the Prophets up and down and in and out, missed Jesus. They were looking for a King to rule like the ones of the Old Jerusalem. But as God warned, the New Thing would be nothing like the past events.)

There is a very real sense in which we cannot move forward in being brave, unless we’re willing to leave some things behind.

Being brave often means leaving behind what we know, or what seems safe and comfortable in order to step out. It may, like the above passage, mean you need to leave behind expectations of what the future may be like.

My oldest daughter and I are fond of thought-provoking quotes. A few months ago we came across this one that has stuck with us.  It comes from a French author who lived in the 1800’s, André Gide. He said,

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to loose sight of the shore.

What shore might you need to leave behind in order to say ‘Yes’ to God’s invitation to move forward and bravely do what He created you to do?

I don’t know what it is that you need to let go of or leave behind, but I know that life on the ground is not worth comparing with life in the sky. 

You were made to fly.