Eyes on the Captain

I don’t love flying. When the skies are clear and the ride is smooth, maybe it’s not so bad. But bad weather and turbulence can make travel by plane a very unenjoyable experience.

Once, on a work trip, my plane had to fly through a violent storm. Prior to takeoff, all flights into Dallas, Texas, had been grounded because the weather was so severe. We had eventually been given the green light to begin our flight, but as we arrived to land, the storm was still raging. I could hear the hail hitting the outside of our aircraft. The high winds were causing extreme turbulence and keeping us from landing safely. We’d begin to descend for landing, only to have to pull back up and try again, and again, and again.

Sitting across the aisle from me on that flight was a grey-haired captain who worked for that airline, on his flight home for the evening. Throughout the storm, he continued to calmly eat his snacks, drink his soda, and watch a movie on his phone. As the turbulence jostled us around in our seats, he never even looked up from his screen. Watching how unconcerned this pilot seemed brought me peace. He was a captain, after all! He would know if we were in danger. If he wasn’t worried about the storm, maybe I didn’t need to be either.

In Mark chapter 4, we read about a similar storm taking place on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and His disciples are in a boat that is being tossed about by the winds and waves, to the point where their boat is beginning to fill with water (v. 35-37).

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:38-40 NLT)

Sometimes, when we’re navigating the storms of life, it can feel like Jesus is asleep in the back of our boat. We may even want to yell, “Don’t You care?!” just like His disciples did. But we learn from Mark chapter 4 that Jesus slept, not because He didn’t care about the storm, but because He knew they would survive it (Mark 4:41).

Throughout his career, the captain on my turbulent flight had probably been through other storms that were just as bad, maybe even worse! Seeing his calm demeanor allowed me to feel at ease as well.

When life begins to feel turbulent, we can keep our eyes on the Captain of our lives for comfort and assurance. Colossians 1:17 reminds us that He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. So, we can be confident that if we keep our eyes on Jesus, we’ll see that He is never worried (Luke 12:25-26, John 14:27)! Let the promise that our God is with us (Isaiah 41:10) and for us (Romans 8:31) give us peace through every season of our lives.

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! (Psalm 46:1-3)

~

Scripture is quoted from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.