Do you trust God as much as the pilot?

I was outside enjoying the beautiful weather and blue sky today, and watched a jet airplane cross the sky. It got me to thinking about trust.

First of all, I know there is a mountain of physics behind it all, but it still amazes me that several hundred tons of metal can get enough lift to fly. Then I thought about how much we trust those airplane design engineers, airline mechanics and pilots to safely transport us from one location to another. For most people, air travel may invoke a small amount of anxiety, but we generally trust that we will arrive at our destination safely. We board that plane without much thought about the trust we have placed into the hands of strangers.

The same goes for travel on a train, bus, or in another person’s car (although if you are driving with your teenager you might be having some anxious thoughts and stomping that imaginary brake pedal).

I wondered, do I trust God that easily? When we get on that plane we turn everything over to that pilot, entrusting him or her with our lives. When we get up in the morning, we often probably also move along into our daily activities trusting that we’ll go to bed at the end of the day without any tragic incidents. But do we think about who is at the controls of our life?

Many people will debate the issue of free-will or fate but ultimately the argument will boil down to your faith. As a Lutheran Christian, I believe that God has a plan for me but that He has given me the free-will to make choices as to whether or not I will choose to follow the road that gets me to that destination God has planned. Along the way, I believe that God gives me the Holy Spirit to constantly point me back toward the path I should be traveling. I will continue to choose to listen or not and the Holy Spirit will continue to try to show me the way back. So in this analogy, I am at the controls but God has filed the flight plan and the Holy Spirit is my co-pilot. Is my safe arrival at my destination guaranteed?

It’s hard to give control of your life to someone else, yet we relinquish at least some of that power all the time (to airline pilots, bosses, spouses, children, parents, friends, advertising agencies and marketers, banks, governments, etc.). But considering how much can go wrong each day, is that wise? Do these entities to which we relinquish partial control of our lives have our best interests at heart? It is only human to want to control the path of your life, or to regain control of it if you’ve given too much control to others.

But we are more than just human. We are children of God. God will not let his children perish if we give Him the controls.

Will I choose to be the co-pilot and let God be the pilot, or will I assert myself and rule the cockpit?

How much do you trust God to pilot your life?

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