Life seems simple when you fly. Takeoff, turn to 135 degrees, and climb to 5,500 feet. After thirty minutes Copataza slides under the left wing. Turn right, follow the river, and in another five minutes, pass over Mashient. Gently lower the nose until the vertical speed indicator settles on a 500-foot-per-minute descent, and clock nine minutes more. Voilá, Charapacocha appears magically out of the jungle with the plane at pattern altitude. A clear lesson emerges. Fly straight enough to hold heading, climb high enough to miss hard things, keep track of the time, and you will reach your destination. You can’t get lost.

The Christian life, at first, appears the same—follow Jesus, and you will get to Heaven. You can’t get lost. Guaranteed. But then it gets complicated. God’s will doesn’t eliminate ours, it becomes one more choice. We quickly learn that His way works and ours doesn’t. So, naturally, we spend lots of time asking, seeking and knocking. And a happy day dawns when we discern what He wants. But during the party, the old man sneaks up unnoticed and says, “Thanks, Lord! I’ll get right on this.” Then, he picks up the ball and runs like crazy.

Eagerness to reach the goal tricks us into trying to accomplish it ourselves. But remembering that we can accomplish exactly nothing apart from Him renews our perspective.

So, what are you waiting on Him to do through you?

Joshua 24:15; Colossians 3:5-11; John 15:1-8; James 4:4; Romans 6:5-7