I am not a frequent flier. Yet I fly over 6 times in a year. And each time I land, I rejoice much, I thank the Lord from inside out. As I land as an expression of joy, I also clap, irrespective of the time of landing.
Although the majority of passengers may be grateful, only a few express gratefulness to God for the safe flight and safe reaching the destination. I choose not to take any flight, long or short for granted. There are so many different aspects which make a flight safe. So many things can go wrong which can make any flight to be numbered among the 70 to 100 airline crashes that generally happen in a year.
The first time, I saw passengers clapping on landing when flying over Europe. The passengers were probably from Russia or the CIS countries. It was so good to see them rejoice as soon as the flight landed and the aircraft was vibrating heavily due to the impact of landing on the landing strip.
We know that in any flight although there could be multiple occasions of crisis, this does not get reported. The pilots, some of the air crew and the air traffic controllers keep these matters to themselves. Often only when matters which require passenger awareness, response or action are they shared with passengers. Many times issues get resolved before they ever increase in intensity to become a crisis.
Do we let our ignorance of the protection and mercy we received prevent us from rejoicing, praising and thanking the Lord? Do we need to know all the mechanical and navigational issues that transpire for us to rejoice for thanking God? Rather than wanting to be aware of a crisis it’s important to thank the Lord for safe landing and every crossing of any milestone.
That we need to rejoice always and in everything give thanks is the will of God. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 The verse clearly shows that we need to rejoice always. This includes safe landings. We need to thank God for everything, this includes safe landings. And we do these as doing this is the will of God.
The above verse also reminds us that we are to pray without ceasing. This certainly points to being reminded to have an ongoing prayer – communication with the Lord.
From this verse we understand that it is the Lord’s mercy that we are safe and sound and protected from many potentially dangerous situations and sickness. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34
Do we ever know how many times the antibodies successfully thwarted attacks from various viruses or bacteria and other disease prone situations. We are protected innumerable times. All these are never going to be known to us. Only in extremely rare situations are we aware when sickness succeeds in making an in-rode into our bodies and our lives. Majority of the time the antibodies in our blood, rest of the body and even the 70 to 80% of antibodies in our gut do a great job of protecting us from various ailments which are never known to us.
The psalmist says that the Lord truly is our strength. He is our shield. We trust in Him and we are saved. Therefore our hearts are glad. If the psalmist would travel with us in the flight he would certainly rejoice and clap his hands as a sign of rejoicing – which is often spoken in the psalms.
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him. Psalm 28:7
The Wright brothers were successful in making the first flight although only gravitational force principles were only known. The lack of awareness of the principle of aerodynamics was not an impediment for them to make history. You can always ask the lord to make you aware of the various times He protected and shielded you. He may sometimes oblige you. Nonetheless if like the psalmist, you would like to thank the Lord for all his mercies and grace towards you. Do not delay. Go ahead. Thank Him. Glorify Him. When the situation demands, start a conversation about your sincere praise and thanks to God. The safe flight landing may be only one of the occasions you use to Praise and Thank the Lord your God.
