The Wind Beneath My Wing

Many years ago I flew an aircraft called a King Air.  It was a multi-million dollar turbo-prop aircraft that cruised about 320 miles per hour.  It was not a very fast airplane in relation to the jets of today but it could really climb especially at the lower altitudes.  Every day I would fly this turbo-prop or prop jet as it was known to various cities across the United States.  I would take off from Dallas and climb up to 18,000 feet, sometimes I would go higher. 

One thing that often determined how high I went was how smooth the air was.  If I was going to climb up to 21,000 feet and suddenly it got really rough and bumpy I would never go higher, but rather I would descend back down to 19,000 feet where the air  was smooth.

A big revelation happened when I started flying jets.  I learned about the giant river of air that flows above the earth called the Jet Stream.  The Jet Stream is literally a river of air that flows usually from west to east, but not always.   The air in it flows anywhere from fifty miles per hour to two hundred and fifty miles per hour.   Before you enter the Jet Stream, though, there is an area that is sometimes very turbulent below, above or beside it. 

When I flew the King Air I would get into this turbulent air and go back down.  But in a jet I enter the turbulent air and…….raise my nose …….and aim higher.  This does two things:  first, it slows the aircraft down where I am not going so fast which equals a smoother ride and secondly, it causes the aircraft to climb faster and I  enter into the core of the river of air where it is smooth.  I  pass through the boundary layer of turbulent air into the smooth racing river of wind.

 
As I apply this to my walk with the Lord I can see where oftentimes God was calling me to a closer walk with Him, but when things got difficult or the road of life got bumpy it was easier to stay where I was than to go higher.  I was satisfied and complacent with where I was spiritually.

God has called each of us higher.  If years ago I would have had known what I know now about the Jet Stream I would have gone higher and further than I had ever dreamed possible and I would have arrived at my destination hours earlier.  There would have been fewer stops I would have had to make if I would have just looked up and climbed a little higher and not been discouraged by the bumps.

 
Is there a place or plateau in your life where God continues to challenge you to ascend even higher?  A higher spiritual plane perhaps?    Has God called you higher?  Are you just bumping the bottom of the Jet Stream of your spiritual life? 

Perhaps the songwriter said it  best………”Lord lift me up and let me stand, on heaven’s table land.   A higher plain than I have found…..Lord plant my feet on higher ground.”  You know…..sometimes our attitude determines our altitude in life of not only how high we go but how far as well.   God says,  “Come up here”… As I am out flying this week ….in the Jet Steam ……I will be thinking about you and praying for you………..God bless.

Steve

(C) 2008 Steven A. Johnson