Trust Your Instruments!!!
Pilots go through several stages before they can get their full un-restricted licence, which enables them to fly whenever, wherever they want in any plane that they are able (rated) to fly. Part of that process is going through what is called 'instrument rating'. This is a time of training and assessment where the pilot learns to trust their instruments. This is a vital skill to have, especially when they are flying at night or through bad weather.
The reason that pilots are taught to trust their instruments is that their senses cannot be trusted in those circumstances. In the darkness, your eyesight, focus and depth perception is not accurate at all - especially when you are thousands of feet in the air. When there is no moonlight to see the ground, or there is cloud cover obscuring the ground (or casting a shadow over it) - a pilot cannot determine their height. In the darkness because there are no visual cues, their balance is out as well, so they often don't know if the plane is turning. Basically, the pilots cannot be trusted at all.
The instruments on the other-hand, provide an accurate reading of airspeed, height, angle of the aircraft and heading. Using them effectively, a pilot is able to fly in the darkest night and harshest of conditions, and get to where they are planning to land.
Our lives are not much different...
In our dark times, or the times when there are storms raging about us - our senses, our feelings, our own understanding of what is happening - are inaccurate and cannot be trusted. So, rather than trusting our emotions, and thinking - what are our instruments that we can place our trust in.
The instruments that we should rely on is the Word of God. Here are some reasons why...
Our Own Weaknesses:
Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 28:26 - "Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe."
Jeremiah 17:9 - “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?
These verses show us how inaccurate our mind and heart actually are. We should not depend on our own ability to think or reason through things, in matters that are eternal, or beyond our experience, we have no foundation on which to build our thoughts - therefore, much of what we talk about, think through or understand, in relation to our lives is not accurate, because we cannot see our lives from God's perspective. Just like the pilot flying through thick clouds, or in utter darkness - we cannot trust in what we feel or see. We need to trust in something that has a higher, clearer perspective of the situation that we find ourselves in.
We cannot trust what the world says, or does...you cannot trust the 'truth' that the world portrays...Why? because it fulfils all of the scriptures above. The World leans on its own understanding of things. The World trusts in its own insight. And the World trusts in the things of its heart.
As Christians we must follow a different course. We must set aside the things of our fallen, corrupted selves and seek to be guided by something higher than us. This can only be found in the ultimate truth of the Word of God. Those divinely inspired scriptures, with which we should be engaging with on a daily basis.
So, why should we place our trust in the Word of God????
The Strength of the Word of God:
Psalm 33:4 - "For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does."
Isaiah 55:11 - "It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it."
Psalm 18:30 - "As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him."
Hebrews 4:12 - "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires."
The words found in these verses are powerful statements about the strength, power and authority of the Word of God. These verse illuminate some of the characteristics of the Word of God, they include:
It holds true....ALWAYS!!!
It produces fruit...ALWAYS!!!
It accomplishes what God wants it to...ALWAYS!!!
It will prosper (bearing fruit and bringing life) wherever it goes...ALWAYS!!!
It is flawless, without fault and error...ALWAYS!!!
It is alive (through the Holy Spirit)...ALWAYS!!!
It is powerful (because it comes from God)...ALWAYS!!!
It exposes our thoughts, desires and heart (both good and bad)...ALWAYS!!!
These things are counter to what the World offers us. The World offers us lies, destruction, false promises, and all it seeks is to fulfil its own desires and follow what their heart wants to do.
These scriptures should encourage us, and strengthen us. If we read the Word of God, and meditate on it, and let it soak into our spirit and heart - then it will be fruitful in our lives, it will be powerful, and it will accomplish what God's will for our lives is.
No matter how dark our lives may be, or what storms we are passing through....the Word of God is there for us to hold on to.
Effects of the Word on Us:
Psalm 119:41-42 - "Lord, give me your unfailing love, the salvation that you promised me. Then I can answer those who taunt me, for I trust in your word."
Psalm 119:105 - "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."
2 Timothy 3:16-17 - "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realise what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work."
Luke 11:28 - "Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”
After establishing how important and vital the Word of God is, we now see in these verses what effect the Word of God has in our lives - if we let it!!!
We see that we firstly must put our trust in God's word, as it comes from God Himself - in effect we are extending our faith in God to what he has said to us over the generations. Then the Word of God will guide out steps, to guide our decisions, so that our path is illuminated by the will of God.
Furthermore, the Word of God does the following for us and in us:
Teaches us the truth.
Helps us to see where we are going wrong, and guides us to a place of repentance and restoration in God.
It teaches us how to live the right way, not mirroring the ways of the world.
When we read it and absorb it - God uses the Holy Spirit to equip us to be used by God and his kingdom.
In all of this, the focus is this....
TRUST YOUR INSTRUMENTS!!!!
TRUST IN THE WORD OF GOD!!!
I pray that the Word of God be alive in your life. May it bear fruit, may it bring strength, and may it guide you to the promises and fulfilment of God's will in your life. I pray that you draw near to God and his word, that you hold it close. May God Bless you mightily.