Friday, November 3, 2006
I know men are never lost. We just find alternative routes, right - scenic routes. I've found more than my share, but my choice of a wrong road has never led to deadly consequences. It did for Comair Flight 5191 out of Lexington, Kentucky. Somehow, the pilot went down the wrong runway; one-half the length of the runway from which he'd been cleared to take off. He ran out of runway and hit a row of trees. Tragically, 49 of the 50 people aboard died in that crash. As the investigation of the crash unfolded, we found out that the one flight controller in the tower wasn't looking when the plane turned onto that fatal runway. He had what was described as "administrative duties" to tend to, and he turned his back, and moments later - disaster.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Your Crisis of Control."
No matter what season of your life you're in, you've got tons of choices to make about money, about your job, about your family, about your relationships, about a place to live, a vehicle to drive, or a medical situation to respond to. At any given point, you could probably make a list of at least a dozen important decisions you need to make, any one of which can significantly affect your life if you get it wrong.
We need a flight controller; someone who can see what we can't see. We're stuck looking out our little window, trying to choose a runway based on the little that we can see. The good news from the Bible is that we can have a flight controller like that; one who has promised He will never turn His back. One of His many promises to His children is recorded in Psalm 32:8, our word for today from the Word of God. God says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."
In other words, God's offering to direct you each day in every area of your life. And face it, He's so much smarter than we are. He can see the whole picture. He has the plans that He made you for. He talks about them in Jeremiah 29:11, "I know that plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That's security. That's fulfillment. That's safety from a God who is not going to let you crash.
Here's the problem. We'd rather navigate our own life. Listen to God's statement right after the "I will instruct and teach you" verse. "Do not be like the horse or the mule which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit or bridle or they will not come to you." That's us. We'll give God money, we'll give Him time, belief; we'll give Him everything but one thing - control. We want a God who bails us out but not a God who calls the shots. So here we are, trying to call our own shots from our own little cockpit window, and missing the runway we're designed for.
If we refuse to let the Divine Flight Controller direct our path, we will die. In the Bible's words, "The wages of sin is death" ( Romans 6:23). That's eternal death, as in "hell." But that's not what God wants. In spite of the fact that we've chosen to reject His Creator-right to run our life, He loves us so much that He chose to pay that death penalty Himself. His Son was butchered on a cross, dying as your substitute, taking the punishment for your sin so you could be forgiven, so you could belong to the God that you can't really live without. The God you sure don't want to die without.
He's come to you today, down in your heart, to invite you to finally let Him be God for your life. The life He made you for begins the moment you tell His Son, "Jesus, I'm Yours. You died for me. You came back from the grave to prove You can give life forever, and I am Yours, beginning today."
I'd be honored if I could just help you get started with Him. And our website is actually designed to do just that. I want to invite you to visit us there; it's yoursforlife.net. Or you can call us for my little booklet about belonging to Jesus. It's called "Yours For Life." Just call and ask for it at 877-741-1200.
You've tried doing it your way long enough. It hasn't taken you where you want to go. It never will. You were made to live with God as your Flight Controller - the One who will never turn His back on you. Let Him call the shots before you crash.