Into the Wind

When I was in college, I got my private pilot's license. It was a great hobby to have during college, but it's pretty expensive to keep up in seminary or on a pastor's salary, so I've let it go by the wayside for now.

One of the things you may or may not know about airplanes is that they always take-off and land into the wind. Some people think it would be to the pilot's advantage to take-off with the wind in order to get airborne but in fact, trying to take-off with the wind makes it harder to get off the ground. Getting airborne has very little to do with speed, and everything to do with the flow of air over the wings of the airplane, so it helps to push into the wind.

Lots of times in life and ministry, there's a temptation to avoid going into the wind. We think it's to our advantage to go with the flow and avoid the wind in our face. We avoid conflict, avoid hard decisions - avoid anything that could possibly provide any kind of resistance to the direction we're going. But that makes it awfully hard to get airborne.

There's obviously a threshold. The person who loves conflict probably shouldn't be doing it. The person who likes to push the boundaries just to see how much wind he can endure without blowing over is a fool. But just like with airplanes, God has a tendency of using the wind blowing in our face to help get us off the ground.

If you're dealing with tough stuff or adverse circumstances, lean in. Throttle-up, and start down the runway. Even though you can feel the wind on take-off and landing, there's nothing more peaceful than being in the air.