May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation, according to your promise.
—Psalm 119:41
Imagine you’re a pilot, taking your small plane out for a quick flight.
When you took off earlier in the day, the sun was shining and conditions seemed
ideal for flying. But now the wind is starting to pick up, and before you know
it, a dense fog has rolled in. Visibility is low, and it’s becoming more
difficult to see landmarks—particularly the horizon.
Then it happens: suddenly your body is saying you’re going one direction,
while the instruments are telling another story.
You’re heard warnings about this before—spatial disorientation, they call
it. Which voice will you believe? Your inner ear, which is convinced
that you’re flying straight, or the plane’s instrument panel, which clearly
says you’re banking left? What will you use as your standard to determine which
way is up? Your choice could very likely mean the difference between life and
death.
According to a study by the US
Navy, 13 percent of air crashes during a ten-year period were caused by spatial
disorientation. There was a disconnect between the pilots’ gut feeling and the
instruments, and when they went with their gut, the results were fatal. These
crashes couldn’t be blamed on a lack of experience, either—the pilots had an
average of a decade in the cockpit and more than a thousand hours of instructor
time. In other words, having expertise, experience, and training isn’t enough
to prevent disorientation.
When it comes to knowing the way
of salvation, we, too, can become disoriented—even if we’ve been following
Christ for a long time, even if we’ve heard good teaching, even if we know a
lot about being a Christian. That’s when it’s critical to listen to the
instrument panel God has given us: his Word.
Maybe your gut is telling you it’s
not exactly a lie; it’s just not
telling the whole truth. But God’s Word says we are to speak the whole truth
from our hearts (Psalm 15:2).
Maybe your gut is telling you that
you deserve to keep a little extra from the business deal after working so
hard. But God’s Word says it’s better to be poor and blameless than rich and
corrupt (Proverbs 28:6).
Maybe your gut is telling you that
no one would expect you to forgive that person.
But God’s Word calls us to forgive others as he has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12).
Throughout this journey of faith,
we sometimes lose our bearings and can no longer see the horizon. Sometimes our
gut feelings don’t match up with what God’s Word says. It’s in those moments
that we have a critical choice to make: Will we choose to rely on how we feel
or on the unfailing Word of God?
Psalm 119:41 says that the Lord’s
love is unfailing. Take a moment to let that sink in. His love never fails. Meaning
he’s always for us, always faithful. Meaning he never lets us down, never breaks his promises. No other person or thing can live up to
such a claim and then deliver on that promise.
God’s love is
unfailing; his salvation is unfailing; his promises are unfailing; his Word is
unfailing. He is more reliable than the instrument panel on any aircraft, and
he will never lead us astray. His way is the way to life and salvation.
So whenever there
is a discrepancy between our internal compass and the direction given to us in
his Word, may we always choose his Word. God always knows better than we do
which way is up.
Have you put your full trust in God for salvation? If not, what is
holding you back? Is there anything other than God that you are putting your
trust in?
—Stephanie Rische
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