Safe Landings!

“Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.” (Ps 73:24 AV)

This single verse summarizes the entire pilgrimage of the child of God.  This is the very definition of our lives.  This single verse gives clarity regarding everything that happens to us.  Our wonderful God guides us from cradle to grave in the magnificence of His counsel.  Every second of our lives was thought out and decreed before the world began.  Our Creator God knew every possible outcome of every individual second and decreed it all as part of His perfect plan.  Every interaction, every trial, every blessing, every correction, every bird that flies by, every dog that barks, and every insult cast at the child of God is part of His perfect plan.  Then, when He has guided us through life with the goal of eternal life and sanctification, He receives us to glory.  He brings us home!  When we finish the journey He has for us to take, the door to eternal life is opened and He brings us through.  There is never a time, from the moment of our conception to every single day of eternity future wherein our omnipotent and gracious God does not guide and control!  What a wondrous thought.

Learning to fly an airplane was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.  Well, I didn’t exactly learn.  I took a discovery flight and the instructor allowed me to fly the plane for the first time.  A discovery flight is meant to entice a student to sign up for flying lessons so he can earn his pilot’s license.  It was an opportunity of a lifetime!  I’d do it again in a heartbeat.  What a thrill.  While flying the plane, there is a false sense of control.  At any time, the instructor can lock out the student's controls and assume full command of the plane.  My instructor never felt the need.  Praise God!  After take-off, the instructor had me control the yoke.  She controlled everything else.  She controlled the props and the rudders.  One can fly a plane without a rudder, but it is extremely difficult.  Sharp banks and turns are impossible.  Anyway, she had me keep the airplane at a specific altitude and we did some turns.  My instructor was impressed that I knew what to do with the yoke based on the direction of the turn to maintain a constant altitude.  But she never relinquished the rudder or props.  She guided us from a small airport down to Chicago and back.  We got a great view of downtown.  Over lake Michigan, we flew.  When it was time to land, she allowed me to use the yoke, but I had to surrender to the pressure she was applying.  I still had my hands on the ascent, but she was in control.  She landed that plane safe and sound.  I was a participant, but at no time was I truly one-hundred percent in control.

Asaph wrote the psalm for David as the king lay on his death bed.  This is why the above verse is no more complicated than a simple statement of God’s wonderful care.  No matter the circumstances of life, the plan will land safely at the intended airport.  There is no need to be anxious.  There is no need to assume control of a plane which we couldn’t fly ourselves, even if we tried.  The above verse should be one committed to the hearts and minds of every believer.  God will never abandon us.  He has control of the yoke.  He may allow us to make and small adjustment or two, but that plane is going to land exactly where the LORD wants it to.  Knowing the God who knows the future is a comfort that rests the soul.  Knowing God has a purpose for it all means a lot.  Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that He will receive me into glory is the hope I have of this life that has no other match.  God knows what He is doing and He will welcome me home!