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!
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