Trust and Obey

Several years ago, an aircraft departed from a western U.S. airbase. During a preliminary attempt at take-off, they were forced to abort the take-off. In the failure of take-off, the navigational instruments were damaged and, unknown to the navigator, began to malfunction. The plane taxied around and for a second time attempted a take-off, this time successfully. However, their bearings had been set using those malfunctioning instruments. As a result, the further the plane flew the further it grew from its destination. Hours over the Pacific Ocean, the plane dropped below the cloud deck expecting to see its destination. But, instead, they could see only miles and miles of the vast expanse of uninterrupted blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. The plane was hundreds of miles from its destination. In time, it eventually went down without fuel. Captain Rickenbacker and his crew floated in lifeboats on the water for several weeks before they were fished out of the water by a rescue team. **

A slight miscalculation at the beginning of the journey led to a missed destination at the end of his journey. All of us have to make choices at the beginning of things, or at the crossroads of life, that will have consequences as to the outcome of things. This past Sunday, in our story of Moses, we could see how Moses made some critical, historical, personal decisions at the beginning and at the crossroads of his life which determined the course of his life. You will recall that as a young man he chose to disobey God and do things his way—and it cost him dearly. Later on, as a mature man, he chose to obey God and do things God’s way—and it blessed him richly. This story of Moses reminds us that those who belong to the Lord must learn to choose obedience to God in their life of faith. This one thing makes all the difference in the world.

Trust and obey,                                                                                  
 for there’s no other way                                                                  
To be happy in Jesus,                                                              
But to trust and obey.
**By the way: Captain Eddie Rickenbacker lived for decades in South Florida and every day would go to the pier at Key Biscayne, feed the seagulls, and thank God for his rescue at sea. He spoke often and wrote much about his faith in God. He told about the Lord’s deliverance of him and his crew in their miraculous rescue at sea. One other note: he believed God sent the seagull far out in the Pacific Ocean, which landed on the shoulder of one of his airmen in the lifeboat. From the seagull’s innards, they attained bait for fishing which sustained them at sea for weeks. He saw the hand of God in all this—and lived out his life trusting in the goodness and providence of God. A good lesson for us all!

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron