Flying Cars, Failure, and Faith

Let's turn to Psalm 107:
31 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! 32 Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people, And praise Him in the company of the elders.   The Psalmist then lists a number of acts and attributes of God, and in verse 42 outlines our response... 42 The righteous see it and rejoice, And all iniquity stops its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise will observe these things, And they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.

God is our source of wisdom, and if our hearts are turned toward Him, depending on Him and giving Him praise for His wonderful works, we will be sensitive to identify His hand in our lives.  He is the one who creates desires in our hearts, He gives us a passion to follow His will, and He will enable us to participate in His divine plan, which will involve creativity and innovation for time to time, and will involve what we might perceive as failure, but we continue to place confidence in His ways.

Proverbs chapter 3 underscores the importance of being reliant on the wisdom of God:
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

Passion can lead to innovation, and sometimes the attempt to innovate can lead to failure.   Then, you have the choice to get back up and try again, appropriating what you've learned.  

And, I am sure that Steve Saint is ready to get back up and try again, after a miscue regarding one of his innovations - well, in the human realm, we may call it a miscue, but it is an opportunity for God to show Himself faithful.

So, here's the story:  Steve Saint is the son of Nate Saint, the pilot of a plane that had 5 missionaries, including Jim Elliot, as passengers.   The missionaries lost their lives at the hands of a remote tribe in Ecuador, but while some would count that a failure, the follow-up by Elisabeth Elliot and others has resulted in many coming to Christ.    So, God worked a greater purpose.   The story is depicted in the book, Through Gates of Splendor, which was also made into a documentary, as well as the movie, End of the Spear.

So, Steve has built on his father's legacy and created a ministry called I-TEC, which stands for Indigenous People's Technology and Education Center.   Last week, he was injured in the process of testing a prototype vehicle which is designed to increase access to remote areas.  He has already developed a "flying car" called the Maverick, as well as other innovations.   This apparently was a new sort of device or piece of equipment.

According to Christianity Today:

The accident has left Saint, whom CT profiled for his efforts to invent a flying car for missionaries in 2010, with "no control of feet or hands"; however, "his mind is clear and he does have some motion and sensation in all four limbs," according to the I-TEC email. The injury may end his career as a test pilot.

Steve had surgery earlier this week, and the ministry's Facebook page reports:

Update: Steve came through his surgery very well. One of the biggest things for him is that he does not require his neck brace. He was able to stand up on his feet for about a minute this morning, with help. This is just the start of the long road ahead, but we know that he is a fighter and hard worker. By the beginning of next week, he should be moved into an in-patient rehab facility to begin intensive physical therapy. Please continue to pray for Steve and Ginny, as well as the rest of our family and care-givers as we continue this journey together to see how God will use this for our good and His Glory. 

Listen to some of the innovations from this ministry called I-TEC:

I-Dent: a portable dental chair that makes it possible to provide the equipment and training for basic dentistry in indigenous places.

I-See: equips indigenous God-followers with the skills they need to identify common eye disorders, fit glasses, and run a self-sustaining ministry.

I-Med:  makes it possible for indigenous, non-health care workers to learn to offer safe and effective basic heath care services to their own people when such health care is not available.

So, pray for Steve, who is living out the ministry theme of "Let God Write Your Story".   And Steve reportedly told his family, "let's let God write this chapter, too."

Again, if God has given us a passion for something, He will give us wisdom and direction, and we have access to His creativity, which enables us to be innovative at times.   But, with innovation - and risk - will come what we perceive as failure.   But, even in those times we feel we stumble, we place our trust in the ways of the Lord.