Soaring

I want to concentrate on two verses from Isaiah 40 that point to the sufficiency and supremacy of our
God and how His power is made available to us as we trust in Him. One is verse 28:
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

In verse 31, we can see how that can be appropriated:
31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

We have the opportunity to be in relationship with the God of the Universe, and He calls us to fellowship with Him, to worship Him, to wait on Him, with expectancy in our hearts.  When we feel overwhelmed and disappointed, God wants us to rise above that.  If we feel we have lost our way or the answers we seek are not being manifested, we can renew our sense of purpose in Him and know that He loves us and grants us the strength to live each day in the glory of His presence.

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There is a sense of alertness that believers in Christ can possess, and it can be applied in so many areas of our lives, including responding properly in times of pressure.  1st Peter 1 identifies this
dependence on Christ:
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

You go into the experience of an airplane flight with the expectation that you will routinely get to your destination, more or less on time, with only a minimum of inconvenience - maybe some turbulence, perhaps a snafu with the baggage.  But, the passengers on that flight from New York to Dallas recently had another thing coming.

The ChurchLeaders.com website tells the story of what happened to the 149 passengers on that plane that day: "An explosion in the left engine of the plane sent a piece of shrapnel through one of the windows of the plane. A woman was partially sucked out the window but other passengers managed to pull her body back into the plane and a registered nurse administered CPR until the plane landed."

That passenger, Jennifer Riordan, did lose her life; 7 others were injured.

The pilot guided the plane to safety, making an emergency landing in Philadelphia.  Her name is Tammie Jo Shults.  The article says:

Shults would have had plenty of practice keeping cool under pressure during her career in the Navy. She was the first female pilot to fly an F-18, a fighter jet. While she wasn’t allowed to fly in combat situations, Shults was an instructor pilot.

She was a graduate of MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas.  The article states:

MidAmerica Nazarene’s director of alumni relations, Kevin Garber, describes Shults as a “solid woman of faith,” NBC News reports. Shults’ brother-in-law, Gary Shults, describes her as “a very caring, giving person who takes care of lots of people.”

Indeed, Shults’ concern for others was apparent after she landed the damaged plane. Passengers on board report Shults walked through the aisle to check on everyone. According to passengers, the plane erupted in applause as she came through the cabin.

And, according to the ChurchLeaders.com story, "She says being a pilot gives her the opportunity 'to witness for Christ on almost every flight,'" and it points out that she was certainly a witness to those 149 passengers.

A Dallas Morning News story on Shults reports that she and her husband, also a pilot, attend the First Baptist Church in Boerne, Texas, about 30 miles from San Antonio.  It says:

Longtime friend and fellow church member Staci Thompson said a deep Christian faith has guided the way Shults lives.

Shults has taught nearly every grade level of Sunday school at their church. She’s volunteered at a school for at-risk kids and turned a cottage on her family’s property into a temporary home for victims of Hurricane Rita and widows.

“She would tell you everything she has she’s been given from God, so she wants to share it,” Thompson said.

Tammie Jo was one of the first female pilots in the Navy, and is profiled in a book called, Military Fly Moms. Even though she had faced rejection, she is quoted as saying, "In my heart, I hoped that God had given me an interest in flying for a reason. I had never touched an airplane, but I knew flying was my future."

Tammie Jo Shults can teach us about that sense of readiness that I talked about yesterday.  The ChurchLeaders.com story states:

You can listen to an audio recording of Shults talking to air traffic control as she makes the emergency landing. Shults is a picture of keeping calm under pressure. She is also an exemplary leader.

She was trained, she was prepared, so when the pressure hit, when the trial came, she was able to activate her skills and apply her training, so that she could land the plane successfully.

Also, her view of her call and purpose is inspiring.  Every flight could be an opportunity to witness for Christ, in her estimation.  And, as the result of her application of honed skill to land a plane under adverse circumstances, her story has spread and her Savior has been glorified.

She is someone who has a sense of purpose and, as the Dallas News story described it, "fierce determination and laser focus," combined with "sweetness."  The story pointed out that she had been told in a high school vocational day that her dream of being a pilot was not realistic because there were no professional female pilots; and, she did not allow her initial rejection from the Air Force to deter her.  She was convinced that God had instilled in her an "interest in flying for a reason."  She did not give up in her pursuit of what she believed the Lord had called her to do, and neither should we.