When you board a plane you have to trust that the structural integrity and aerodynamics of the plane are sound. You have to trust that the engineers have done a thorough inspection of the relevant working parts between flights. You have to trust that the pilot knows what he is doing, and that he has had enough sleep; and, the pilot has to trust that the instruments are giving him an accurate reading of the location of the plane.
In our Christian lives, God is always at work to get us to the place where we learn how to fly by the instruments. Flying by the instruments and flying period, takes trust! God is looking to develop people who have learned how to walk by faith and not by sight. People who are not moved by circumstance, but by the Word of God and what He has to say. Sometimes, God has to take us to place of extremity to teach us the lesson of ‘How To Fly Blind’.
When a young bird learns how to fly, depending on the species, they have to get pushed out of the nest for their first flying lesson. It’s only the extremity of the circumstance which forces them to do what they are created to do. Sometimes to get us to walk on water, God will push us out of the boat! Sometimes it’s only in the extreme circumstances of life that we learn how to do what we were created to do.
God did this to the Children of Israel. He told Pharaoh to let His people go into the wilderness to worship Him. But worship was not the only purpose God had in mind. He wanted to teach His people how to fly blind! The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:3 “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
God was teaching them how to fly by using only what He said as their guide. He said in Exodus 19:4, “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.” God was giving them flying lessons! I want to encourage you today, you were born to fly. As soon as you are born of the Spirit of God, it’s your destiny to live a different kind of life.
God spent forty years training the children of Israel in the art of flying, but they still had a worldly mentality. Their minds were gripped by what they could see. They had difficulty seeing with the eyes of faith and navigating that way. Whenever God said something, they constantly looked at the circumstances and complained. When you look at circumstances, in this type of situation, you won’t be flying anywhere in a hurry! Unfortunately, when it came time to enter the promised land, they weren’t ready. The only way you can enter the promised land is if you’ve learned how to fly blind!
Of course, it was a tough transition for them; and after years of training, a whole generation had failed to learn their lesson. God had to teach the next generation, a generation who’s mind had not been conditioned in the same way. The older generation had had a lifetime of living by sight and they chose to believe what the spy’s had to say about the land, rather than the report of the Lord. Only Joshua and Caleb were willing to fly by instruments into the promised land.
Flying by faith requires that at each critical decision point, you seek the counsel of the Lord. When the children of Israel entered the promised land, it was only as they sought the counsel of the Lord that they experienced success. When they did things their own way, they failed. God was still at work, even in the promised land, teaching them to fly blind. It requires believing what God’s report is and not the report of the circumstances. God’s way of doing things is some times totally contrary to the world’s way. Sometimes, when we fly by faith, it will look crazy.
There are times when we fly and we hit turbulence. I don’t know if you have ever flown in serious turbulence, but you get to have the opportunity to not think about how far up in the sky you really are and what would happen if you crash! There is a temptation sometimes to panic; we need to resist that temptation and remember that if we are flying by faith in what God has said, we are depending on instruments that are totally reliable and trustworthy!
I understand that we don’t always hear God’s voice perfectly, but if our hearts are in the right place to hear God and obey, God will make up for any deficiencies on our part. Today, God may be challenging you to take a step of faith that doesn’t make any sense at all in your understanding. Sometimes the challenge is to be willing to just step out into the unknown so we can inherit all that God has promised.
It can seem reckless to navigate through life this way, but remember, if it’s God’s voice you’re listening to, you’re putting your trust in a voice that spoke the Universe into being. God can be trusted! The only way to get God’s results is to do things God’s way!
Maybe you have been flying blind for some time and you have hit some turbulence. I want to encourage you, keep your eyes on Jesus, and don’t allow panic to capture you and stop you from listening to what He’s saying. Try not to think about the plane crashing, but rather think about how much God can be trusted! The Apostle Paul said “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Galatians 3:3)
God has brought you this far by the leading of the Spirit. Now is not the time to start relying on your own senses to determine your course. God has you destined for a land of promise and He is looking to you to fly using the eyes of faith, into your destiny and all that He has for you.
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