Made to Fly

I’m a bit afraid of flying—not petrified, just quite sober. I mean, there’s so much distance between you and the ground when you’re in an airplane! When I was nine, my daddy (who never got to fly in a jet but would’ve loved it) convinced me to take a ride with him and a pilot of local Florence, Oregon fame—Bill Kernowski in a little two-seater biplane he flew people around in. I was nervous flying over the ocean, but I had to admit it was beautiful. And then at my dad’s urging, Bill did some “stunts.” Oh, boy. I certainly was not sure this was a good idea. I enjoyed the beauty and how small everything looked from up there, but when the ride ended I think my comment was something to the effect of “I’m not doing that again.”

Approximately eighteen years later, though, I found myself on a jet for the first time, headed from the Willamette Valley to Burbank, California to visit my husband for the weekend. He was away most of that summer on an extensive building project—he and a friend were building a dome house for his grandparents. The actual flight was fairly negligible—it was the take-off and landing that gave me a bit of the flutters. But it was worth it to spend time with my hubby and visit some fun shops and restaurants.

The funny thing is—when I was a young girl, I dreamed of flying a lot. There was such freedom in those dreams—and they felt so real. I would soar through the air effortlessly, and I knew how to make myself go higher. And I’d always land perfectly and gently. In one dream I still recall, I kept landing on the tops of various cars in a back parking lot. The dreams were so real that sometimes I awoke wondering if I really could fly.

Looking back now, I believe God was speaking to me even then—through my dreams of flight. The message? He created me to fly. I was never meant to just walk around looking to the sky, wondering what it would feel like to spread my wings and ride the wind—I was meant to actually do it!

The enemy of my soul has always wanted me to believe I was not strong enough to fly—that I didn’t have what it took. Isaiah 40:31, in the King James, says, “but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.” No wonder the devil tried so hard all my life to discourage me—he knew that if I got close to the Lord, my strength would continually be renewed. I would take flight, just like an eagle, and then there’d be no stopping me!

There have been many failed attempts and mislaid flight plans along the way. I’ve “canceled” would-be flights because of “bad weather,” poor timing, too high a cost, fear—and various other excuses. But those things the enemy has used to ground me—laughably—God has used for good! Every weapon formed against me, in the end, hasn’t prospered because my great Redeemer has shown me the bigger picture (or at least a part of it).

In the NIV, Isaiah 40:31 begins, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength [emphasis added];…” To hope means “to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence.” When we hope in the Lord, we do so with expectation because we know He is a good God who has plans to prosper us—to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11)! God not only has a prosperous future planned for His children—He wants us to partner with Him in hopeful expectation so that all He has planned may become the reality in our lives. And that means, we must learn to see from a higher perspective—we must learn to fly. And because He will never leave us or forsake us, He is soaring right along beside us, showing us the flight path—teaching us when to flap our wings with great determination and when to glide on the wind of the Spirit.

To fly is to break away from the things that have held you back; it is to pursue your destiny with faith and purpose, knowing that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). God is calling you higher. As he said to the prophets in Revelation 11, He is saying to you, “Come up here.” He is about to do something, if you will elevate your perspective; some things can only be seen clearly from above, from a heavenly mindset.

Ask the Lord to renew your mind and fill you with hope today—He has a future for you! He has given you giftings, callings, passions—these things were never meant to be checked luggage; you are meant to carry them, to release them, and to be strengthened in them.

‘But what if I’m afraid?’ you may ask. Fear is not your master, and it has no authority over you unless you allow it. “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). You have all the help you will ever need right at your wingtips. You were made to fly. Mount up!