New Birth at 10,000 Feet
Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:6, NLT).
Dear friends:
Our sovereign God is truly in control of even the smallest details of our lives, even though often we are unaware of His invisible hand.
I have seen this demonstrated in my own life again and again, and maybe you have too. This wonderful truth is also beautifully demonstrated by the following story as told by Our Daily Bread:
As Pastor John Aker boarded a DC-10 at Newark Airport, the plane was nearly empty. The computer, however, had assigned him a seat next to a man named Richard. Once airborne, the two began talking.
Richard had just come from the Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. His condition: skin cancer. The doctors had given him ten months to live, at best. He was going home to Nebraska.
“May I tell you about something that changed my life?” asked John.
Richard nodded. John then explained the way of salvation, later asking, “Will you trust Jesus for your future for what lies beyond the grave for you?”
Richard clutched his hand and said, “Pray with me.”
Right there, 10,000 feet over Chicago, Richard gave his heart to Christ.
Months later, John again boarded a plane at Newark. This time he sat next to an elderly woman who was on her way to Beatrice, Nebraska. As they talked, John was amazed to learn that this was Richard’s mother! She told him that her son was growing in the Lord, and that she had known Christ a long time.
“I’m so encouraged,” said Richard’s mother.
“Yes, and I’m inspired,” said John, “that Richard has followed through and that God arranged for us to sit together.”
The woman replied, “You know, this wasn’t my seat. Just before you came on the plane a woman asked me to change seats with her!”
God does direct our steps! If we are yielded to Him, He will use us. As we enter each new day, let’s trust God to “arrange the seating” in our lives.
Proverbs 3:5-6 is not just pious, nice-sounding words. The words represent true, day-to-day, moment-by-moment reality, even concerning airline seating. They are from God Himself. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths” (NLT).
Yours for helping to fulfill the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,
Bill Bright
About the Author
The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world’s population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, “JESUS,” which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global Pastors Network to “Touch, Teach and Train” a group of 5 million new house churches around the world 24/7/365 at http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org.
Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
