Landing in Las Vegas

I recently returned from a vacation in Las Vegas and I couldn’t wait to get home to blog about my “ah-ha” moment.  (Surprising how most of those moments are the simplest of ideas).  Here’s my “ah-ha” moment that I’d like to share with you… 

   When the plane I was traveling on was about to land in Vegas, the thought occurred to me that I couldn’t see the landing strip.  I leaned as far as I could to see if I could spot the runway, but the wing was blocking my view and even then, the plane was too long to see what was right in front of me. For one second, it sort of freaked me out.  I had absolutely no control. I thought about how I had been told in advance that I would land in Vegas, my destination, and that all I needed to do was “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight,” according to the flight attendants.  But now that the plane itself impossibly blocked my vision and I had two choices:

     1) Freak out and try to get vision of the runway

           or

     2) Trust the pilot's vision of the destination

   I chose #2, remembering the instructions I had been given in advance; instructions that involved trust.  All that I was responsible for was to relax, not be anxious, and to trust that the pilot would bring me to my destination safely.  I could never do this on my own without the pilot, after all, I certainly don’t know how to fly a plane or even guide one in as a passenger.  If I was placed in the position of co-pilot, I still would fail to arrive at my destination safely because of my lack of knowledge.  No, I needed the pilot and I needed to trust him plain and simple.  He was going to bring me to my destination for that moment; you could even say my destiny.   

In fact the words destination and destiny have the exact same meaning in Latin: 

Destination:

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin destinatio(n-), from destinare ‘make firm, establish.’ The original sense was ‘the action of intending someone or something for a particular purpose,’ later ‘being destined for a particular place,’ hence (from the early 19th cent.) the place itself.

Destiny:

ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French destinee, from Latin destinata, feminine past participle of destinare ‘make firm, establish.’

   Whenever we are traveling to a new place in life, physical, spiritual or mental, it can be a fearful thing.  Most of the time our vision is blocked and we can’t see how we are going to land and we can’t guarantee that we are going to land safely because the situation is out of our control whether we realize it or not. We have two choices:

      1) Freak out

             or

      2) Trust the pilot

   Remember the instructions that I was given earlier? Do you know that you and I have been given instructions in advance for our travel to each and every destination that we have in life?  It’s the Bible and it is full of instructions, especially on trust.  Here’s one that I can imagine the “flight attendants” of heaven saying to us as we get ready to take off for our next adventure in life:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)   

Doesn’t this sound the same as “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight?”  So for your next destination in life whether big or small don’t forget that God, our pilot, wants you to “sit back, relax and enjoy the flight.”

*If all of your flight travels have had rough landings, crash landings, and nothing but turbulence, then maybe it’s time you check who the pilot of your life is.   Decide to step away from the controls and make Jesus your pilot.  The flight isn’t always turbulent free but the landings are perfect every time. Let Jesus take you to your destination.  You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. (Psalm 73:24)

Where is God landing you at the moment?  Do you trust Him as the pilot of your life or are you trying to take control and land in your “Las Vegas” on your own?  Think about the situation you are facing right now, are you freaking out or in a place of trust?