And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23 KJV
We often hear about the Air Force pilots and how they fly as a team.
I can only wonder how they are able to do it.
How amazing it is that they manage to keep control of their distance and remain so close to each other.
Knowing how fast they fly; I can’t help but wonder how they manage to keep from crashing.
I read that one reason they can do this is because the lead pilot remains humble.
They understand the importance of them keeping their place throughout the demonstration.
They are trusting that the lead pilot is travelling at the right speed.
Hoping that they won’t try to change the flight path without warning.
The same holds true for the wing pilots.
They also must surrender any desire to switch directions.
To try to change the path the lead pilot has designed for them.
Staying in their assigned position and closely following the lead of the lead pilot, results in a more powerful team.
As wing pilots for Jesus, we too must put our trust in our Leader.
We are to surrender any desire to switch directions or question the path that the Lord has determined for each of us.
He has told us that, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NIV).
As His wing pilots, we know that His path will be one of self-denial and suffering.
A path that we think will be hard to follow.
One that may take some time to fully understand.
We will be taking on spiritual duties that may seem difficult and require efforts on our part.
But He has given us everything we need.
All we must do is follow His directions and stay on the right path.
All the while, thinking about how marvelous our daily, humbling walk with God will be.
How following His lead makes for a beautiful demonstration of His love and power.
One that those who are watching, will see how we are being led by Him.
Our lives will be a like a window through which others will see the Lord.
A WORD OF PRAYER
Father, draw us close to You. We want to be one of Your disciples. Knowing that we must deny ourselves. Taking up our cross daily. Being willing to follow You. Making it possible that our lives will be a window through which others will see Jesus.
In Jesus Name We Pray, Amen