Seat 22C
The gate agent scans your boarding pass, and you shuffle down the jet bridge with everybody else. You find your row, wrestle your bag into the overhead bin, and drop into your seat. The door closes. The engines hum. You pull out your headphones and grab the little bag of pretzels. Maybe you doze off before the plane even leaves the ground.
Somewhere up front, behind a locked door, is a pilot you have never met. You never asked for a résumé. You never checked how many hours they have flown. You never even saw their face. And yet at 35,000 feet, you lean your seat back and trust that person with your life.
Then the plane drops a few feet. Your drink sloshes. The seatbelt light dings on, and the person next to you grips the armrest. Suddenly, trust is not so easy anymore. It is one thing to trust the pilot when the ride is smooth. It is another thing when the cabin starts shaking.
Trust is easy in smooth air. Faith gets real in turbulence.
Solomon wrote to his son:
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."
Proverbs 3 is a father talking to his child, passing on what matters most. To "lean" is to put your whole weight on something. The father is not saying, "Stop thinking." He is saying, "Don't put your full weight on what you can figure out." Your understanding is real, but it was never strong enough to hold you up. And notice the promise. God does not promise a smooth flight. He promises a straight path, which means He will get you where He is taking you.
Here is the good news. Unlike that pilot, God has not stayed behind a locked door. John says that no one has ever seen God, but Jesus "has made him known" (John 1:18). In Jesus, God stepped out of the cockpit and walked down the aisle. He came into our turbulence, all the way to the cross, so we would know exactly who is flying the plane. We are not trusting a stranger. We are trusting a Savior who has already proven He loves us.
So when the bills stack up, when the doctor calls, when your kid stops talking to you, you will still feel the bumps. Feeling afraid does not mean you have no faith. Faith is what you do with the fear. You can grab the controls, or you can keep your seatbelt on and remember who is up front.
Stay in Your Seat
You do not need to understand every turn to trust the One who sees the whole route. Where is the ride rough for you right now, and what would it look like to put your full weight on God instead of your own understanding?
Sometimes faith is simply staying in your seat and trusting the Pilot.
