Don't Lose Your Lift

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding."  Proverbs 3:5

On February 12, 2009, an airplane carrying forty-four passengers and five crew members took off from Newark airport, heading for Buffalo, New York. Just before reaching the Buffalo airport, the plane dropped from the sky. It landed on a house, killing all forty-nine on board and one person in the house.

Ice had formed on the wings causing the plane to lose lift. The weight of the ice interfered with the airflow over the wings. Airflow is what gives a plane its lift. Without lift, an aircraft can stall and drop like a stone to the ground,

The corona-virus has the entire world in a "stall" position.

As I write this, my sister-in-law's nephew, a victim of COVID-19, is finally showing signs of recovery after weeks of clinging to life. I also received word today that a dear Christian couple have both tested positive and their daughter is in the hospital fighting for her life.

An intense restlessness and resentment are growing across the nation. People are forced to remain in their homes, all the while, watching their jobs, financial security, and to some degree, their personal and religious liberties slip away.

But there is good news today for Christians. Yes, we may be in a "stall," but we do not have to lose our "lift," and we certainly do not have to fall!

A year after the tragic plane crash, the National Transportation Safety Board released its report. The plane's flight recorder revealed that the cockpit warnings had sounded indicating that the aircraft was about to stall. When this happens, pilots are trained to push forward to lower the nose. This maneuver increases the speed, which results in more air flowing over the wings, which, in turn, creates enough lift for the airplane to start flying again.

Shockingly, the report stated that instead of pushing forward to increase the speed, the captain pulled back not just once, but several times.

The investigative board concluded their report this way, "The Captain and his crew were fine people. They knew what to do in the situation they faced. They had repeatedly demonstrated it many times before, yet they did not do it."

Did fear, or panic affect their judgment that fateful night? Did the captain lean on his understanding instead of his training? No one knows the answer to those questions.

It is not a time for the church of Jesus Christ to drawback. Most of us are not raw recruits. We have gone through many tests and seen our share of battles. We are trained soldiers; we know what to do. We have two powerful weapons - the Word of God and prayer.

Psalm 1:2 tells us that a healthy, stable Christian delights in the Word of God. Are you delighting in the Word, or do you find reading it burdensome?

We sing, "Oh, how I love Jesus," but the way we treat the Bible is the way we treat Jesus Christ. The Bible is His word to us.

The highest compliment you can pay an author is to say, "I have read your book." Imagine facing the Author of the greatest story, the number one bestseller of all time, and having to say, "Sorry, Lord, I had good intentions, but I never got around to reading Your Book!"

In these trying times, if you want to guard against losing your "lift," don't turn to the news media. Make the Word of God your source of advice and assurance.

"My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen Thou me according unto Thy Word."  Psalm 119:28

E.M. Bounds said, "What the church needs today is not more or better machinery, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use, men of prayer, men mighty in prayer."

To keep our "lift," we need to discipline ourselves to pray, to seek the Lord daily. The Psalmist said in Psalm 88:9, "Lord, I have called daily upon Thee."

A Jewish Rabbi was asked the question by one of his students, "Why did not the Lord furnish enough manna for Israel for a year all at one time?"

The Rabbi said, "I will answer you with a parable. Once there was a king who had a son to whom he gave a yearly allowance, paying the entire sum on a fixed date. It soon happened that the day on which the allowance was due was the only day of the year the father ever saw his son. So the king changed his plan and gave his son day by day that which was sufficient for the day; and then the son visited his father every morning. He needed his father's love, companionship, wisdom, and giving; thus, God dealt with Israel and with us. He wants us to seek Him daily."

A.W. Tozer - "There will be no manifestation of God to His people apart from earnest seeking."

In His presence, we can exchange our weakness for his power, fear for His peace, and questions for His answers. In His presence, we will leave our burdens, problems, and doubts; we exchange the impossible for the possible!

God is warning, refining, and awakening His church.  He is calling us back to our first love.   He is preparing us for His coming.   Jesus is coming back for nothing less than what He started with on the Day of Pentecost - a church on fire!   We don't have to lose our "lift." We know what needs to be done; let's do it!

This world needs an encounter with Jesus Christ; the church needs a fresh encounter with the Holy Ghost!