DO YOU HAVE THE TOWER IN SIGHT?

“This is CWA 008 to tower. Requesting permission to land. We are in an emergency. Time is urgent. We cannot wait for the fog to clear. Over.”

“Roger, CWA 008. We understand that you are blind in that soup out there, but you will be okay. We will get you down.”

Trusting the control tower and a set of instruments is a must for pilots. But trusting our Omnipresent God is also a must for believers when the fog rolls across life, causing our decision-making process to be difficult. God has both the knowledge and the power to get things done and bring us home safely.

Scripture mentions the importance of a tower in several places such as the following:

“For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.”
Psalm 61:3. NIV

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.”
Proverbs 18:10 NKJV

The pandemic has made it all the more urgent to look to the Lord, who is our strong tower. It has made the world look like thick soup, and our vision is often blurry, just as it is for airline pilots.  For example: government and rulers mandating masks, requiring quarantines, restaurant, gym and school closings, losing or changing jobs, churches closing and so much more.  I shake my head. My mind is in a fog. What do I do? What rules must I follow?  What do I believe?  I have no control of the natural life which I have known. Who do I trust?

My faith in the Lord has assured me that trust, faith and hope are urgent in these times.  Once again, Scripture reminds us:

“Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

What should the attitude of a Christian be in this trying time as we are placed in such difficult situations?  There can be but one

attitude.  An unwavering trust in God. God is stronger than any danger. Faith focuses on Jesus Christ and His trustworthiness.  Praise God that Jesus walked among us so we might know Him and learn to relate to Him.  In your time alone with Him, tell Him what He means to you.

It feels like sometimes, God seems to place His children in positions of profound difficulty, leading them into tight corners from which hope seems impossible.  During such periods, these words of Jesus take on added significance.  It should be clearly understood that this kind of faith in God is the most practical approach to the problems and testing of life.  It is not sense, or sight, or reason, but taking God at His Word.

It has been said that life’s greatest loss is the loss of faith.  Jesus did not try to shield Simon Peter from failure, but He did interfere with Simon Peter and his loss of faith.

“And the Lord said, ‘Simon, Simon!
Indeed, Satan has asked for you that he may sift you as wheat. 
But I have prayed for you, that thy faith should not fail;
and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Luke 22:31-32 NKJV

Have urgency to spread the Gospel like a virus that everyone needs!  Share the Gospel.

Are you trusting God to bring your craft in safely – no matter what the weather or trial?  He always will when you give the controls to Him.  LHN

(This article was written by LeeAnn Hurrle-Nelson.   LeeAnn is a newly retired Delta Flight Attendant and also serves on our FCAP Board of Directors.)

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Living in a World of Distractions

On December 29, 1972 Eastern Airlines flight 401 took off from JFK at 9:20pm enroute to Miami, with 176 souls on board. When on final approach to land at Miami, the crew had lowered the gear in preparation for landing and noticed that the nose gear indicator light was not illuminated, meaning the nose gear was not down and locked. The crew then began to troubleshoot the problem, but unbeknownst to them the aircraft had begun a gradual descent. Unfortunately, the crew was so distracted with the nose gear issue that no one was flying the aircraft, causing the aircraft to crash into the Everglades. There were 75 survivors.  Many rules and regulations, policies and practices are in place today as a result of this disaster, to prevent it from ever happening again.

 Losing Sight of Jesus

Distractions in our respective workplaces can be very dangerous, but so can life’s distractions. In Luke 10:38-42 we read the account of Martha and Mary. Both loved Jesus and they were both serving Him. But Martha thought Mary’s approach of serving was secondary to hers. She didn’t recognize that in her longing to serve, she was actually neglecting her guest. Are we so busy doing things for Jesus that we are not spending any time with Him? Don’t let our service become self-serving.

In Matthew 14:28-31 we read of Peter’s faith and the cost of taking our eyes off of Jesus. Distractions take our focus off of Jesus. We can be in the middle of doing great and awesome things, but if we take our eyes off of Jesus and look at the chaos of this world, we can begin to sink. Sometimes we get so distracted that we lose sight of our very surroundings, and sometimes we don’t even realize what we have missed out on until after the fact.

Divine Distractions

It is also important to note that, in sharp contrast to dangerous distractions, there are some distractions that can be Divine. “As [Saul] journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’” (Acts 9:3-4) God can refocus our sights on His ways, distracting us from our ways. Saul (later known as Paul) was on his pursuit to persecute Christians when God got his attention with a distraction. Saul thought he was arresting and imprisoning dangerous heretics; Jesus told him that he was persecuting Christ Himself. So sometimes God uses certain circumstances or distractions as His megaphone to get our attention.

Dealing with Distractions

So how do we deal with distractions? What can we do to mitigate them? How do we discern dangerous distractions from divine distractions? What are some definite steps we can take to keep our eyes fixed on Christ? You see, distractions happened all the time in Jesus’ ministry. The difference in the way He handled distractions is that He just worked the distractions right into the main focus of His Life! In other words, Jesus did not see them as distractions, He saw them as opportunities to save the lost! Use the distractions as opportunities to do God’s will.

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)

When we do God’s will in God’s way with God’s help, no one and nothing can stand in the way of our success. The point is… to be in the presence of the Lord. We should never doubt God’s promise of salvation. God has promised Christians that we will live forever with Him in Heaven. Satan can never snatch us away from our eternal life with God our Father.  JJ

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”  Isaiah 26:3 NKJV

(This article was written by Jake Joseph. Jake is a First Officer with Alaska Airlines and also serves on our FCAP Board of Directors.)

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