I love to fly! That is my preferred way to travel. In December, we flew from Detroit to Austin, Texas – 1165 miles as the crow flies. If we had driven, it would have taken over 20 hours and would have added nearly 300 miles. As it was, our flight lasted about three hours.
Taking off is a rush. To hear the engines rev and to feel the little bit of G-force pushing you back in your seat is exhilarating. Speeding down the runway between 150-180 mph, buildings, hangars, and other aircraft become a blur. Cruising speed once altitude has been achieved averages between 547-575 mph.1 You would think that if you are going this fast you would feel it. However, everything seems to go into slow motion as soon as you are airborne. Why is that?
One suggestion to this phenomenon is that once we are airborne, we lose points of reference. There are no fixtures in the air. Even if you saw another plane out the tiny window, its speed would be comparable to yours, denying you the feeling of rapid motion. However, if a military fighter jet were to zoom by, you would immediately get the sensation of movement because they could be moving four times faster.
Another reason the plane seems to be moving slowly is because we are moving at the same speed as the plane. I cannot contrast my speed with the plane’s speed because they are identical. If we were on the ground and the plane flew directly over our heads at 500+ mph, we would have no problem detecting the speed because we would be separated from it.
The next time we detect speed is when the flight is coming to an end, and we are landing. Points of reference come into view as the plane shudders due to thrust reversers, spoiler deployment, and braking. Landing speeds are close to take-off speeds, and it ends far too soon for me.
Stick with me here as we enter the application time of the devotional. Life is a lot like flying in a plane. Consider what the Bible says about our lives.
Job 7:6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope.
Psalms 102:11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.
Psalms 103:15-16 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. (16) For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Let’s go through the process of flying and compare it to our life.
Purchasing the tickets could be compared to conception. It was pretty easy to do and it was actually the simplest part of the process.
Waiting for the day of the flight is a lot like gestation. You just wait and the parents get more and more anxious as the day approaches just like travelers have to wait for the day of their flight.
The day of the flight is kind of like arriving at the hospital. TSA examines you just like the doctor examines the mom – sometimes, that is more literal than you would care to admit. If you haven’t flown recently, be prepared for going through screening that might include getting wanded and patted down. That happens to me every time we leave Austin.
Take off will be likened to birth. Like life, the flight begins rapidly. Fear, discomfort, crying, the administration of calming medications – it happens in the birthing room, and it happens on the plane! But before you know it, you are in the air – or, a baby has been born.
The flight is life. It goes by almost imperceptibly. A lot of times, it seems to be moving so slowly. We try to fill the void of time with a variety of things: work, reading, sleeping, talking, playing games. It’s what we do in life, and it’s what we do on the plane.
The landing. It comes all too soon for me. I’m glad to be at my destination but I also want to take another trip. I want to experience it all again. Now, this is where the devotional gets me.
Flying can be repeated. Life can’t. When the journey is done, it’s done. We are given one flight – one life to live. Talking with those who are coming to the end of their journey has been eye opening. The end of the flight came sooner and faster than expected. Things began to speed up as eternal reference points came into view. Usually, the landing is a bit rough and bumpy.
But then, the plane stops. The flight is over, and we have reached our destination.
As Christians, we know that the eternal destination is far better than Hawaii, Europe, England, or Austin, Texas. It’s Heaven. It’s Glory. It’s beauty, joy, and blessing unspeakable.
For the lost person, the destination is Hell. Not Hell, Michigan. Not Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan, NY. Eternal Hell prepared for the devil, his angels, and all who have rejected Jesus as Savior.
If you are able to read this, you are in flight right now. If you aren’t headed in the right eternal direction, God will let you change flights midair. Call out to Jesus today and be saved.
If you are saved, don’t get lost in the seeming slowness of the flight. Life is going by quicker than you think, and you will be Home before you know it. Don’t waste the flight. Enjoy it. Use the time wisely for the glory of the Lord.
1https://executiveflyers.com/how-fast-do-planes-fly/
