Living as a Standby Passenger

A few months ago my wife and I flew to Ghana, Africa. Flying internationally isn’t out of the ordinary for many people these days, until you do it as a standby passenger. Our fight took us from Houston, Texas to Frankfurt, Germany on an A-380, the largest passenger plane in the sky with seats for 550 people. Grateful for the savings our son’s flying benefits afforded us, we experienced heart palpitations for the entire hour and five minute boarding process as we waited to hear our names called, guaranteeing a seat on that behemoth of a plane. Sitting together or squished between arm rest hoarders didn’t matter, all we wanted was a seat bottom cushion that doubled as a floatation device with our name on it (but fingers were crossed for a first class opportunity). I’m pretty sure we were passenger numbers 549 and 550, and our luggage didn’t arrive with us, but that was a small price to pay compared to the money we saved flying standby. I Luv my son’s job.

Have you ever followed God to Africa as a standby passenger? Probably not in the literal sense, but perhaps you’ve experienced heart palpitations after taking a step of faith, unsure of where God is leading. You may have questions that don’t have answers and doubts that make you want to undo the decision you made, but that is all part of living a faith-filled life. Walking by faith means that some things will be revealed in God’s timing and not your own. Walking by faith means that God may assign you a seat next to that arm rest hoarder for a ten hour flight and you’ll have a stiff neck at your destination, but He will always have a purpose for that stiff neck and His purpose is always what is best for you. Walking by faith requires a complete trust in God and His ways.

The early apostles experienced this all the time. Peter had a vision in which God told him that every food was now declared clean. At first, Peter didn’t like what he heard. This was not what Peter was used to or how he was raised. But Peter responded to what God was telling him and as a result of his living on the edge (in faith) saw Cornelius and his entire family get saved (Acts 10:9-48). This marked the beginning of Jews and Gentiles coming together and worshipping together in the early church. What if Peter would have refused to live on the edge, to live by faith? How would things have turned out differently? Commit today to walk by faith. Live life as a standby passenger. Trust in God’s will for your life! “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” II Corinthians 5:7