Lifes Turbulence

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

1 John 4: 18 NKJV 

I'll admit that I'm not much of a person prone to airplane trips.  I love airplanes, just not riding in them.  If God had meant me to fly He would have given me wings, that's my attitude.  That being said, there is one trip I took which more or less solidified my resolve that flying...is for the birds.  I was scheduled to catch a flight for Las Vegas out of Seattle, so I hopped on a short hop puddle jumper flight from Portland to Seattle.  The majority of the flight was without incident despite the Top Gun dropout at the controls who obviously wanted to show how he could botch a simple take off.  My first inkling of trouble came as we were about to land in Seattle.  It seems that we were running into a bit of common Pacific Northwest turbulence, and our little Dash 8 puddle jumper was feeling the effects.  I remember sitting in my seat gripping the armrests as the little plane did a sudden drop in altitude 0f about 700 feet.  I knew I was about to die.  However, as I glanced at the guy sitting next to me, a businessman from Seattle, he was calmly sipping his drink and reading the paper as if this kind of horror was common on airline flights.  How could anyone ignore this?  Then it hit me, this man was confident that we would land in one piece.  He'd been down this road before.  As for me, I spent the rest of the flight with my head between my legs writing out my last will and testament.  I thought about that ill fated flight this past week as we were discussing the trials we all go through in our lives.  We all know someone who, like that calm guy sitting on the plane next to me, remain calm when life's trials come knocking.  Then again, there are those believers like me who seem to notch up the pressure on  ourselves each time we're faced with a trial or tough situation.  Is this something in our DNA?  Or, is there something in our own spirit that tells us that God has this covered?  I guess I would refer to it as "knowing."  We know that it is God who is in control of our situation.  

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Matthew 6: 34 NKJV 

Can you find anyplace in scripture where Jesus Himself worried?  Did He worry that Peter and his brothers would catch any fish?  Did He worry that Lazarus would not hear Him and rise from the dead?  No.  As He went through His ministry, Jesus did so with a calm nature.  He knew He was doing the Fathers will no matter what He was doing.  Now, one thing that bugs me about the story of Jesus is that we are not told of His formative years during His youth and teenage years.  I usually assume that we can look and see what life would have been like for a young Jewish boy of His age back then.  I'm sure that there were times during this period where the young Jesus would worry about what was going on around Him.  Yet, we're told that Jesus grew in influence and favor among men {Luke 2:52}.  You could say that He matured as He got older.  Is this the same with us?  If so then why do we continue to fret over what we cannot control?  We might not do so were we to be reminded that it is Christ who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Yes, that Calmness which Jesus displayed during His life can be ours if we have that intimate knowledge of Him.  It has never been us against the world.  Jesus overcame the world {1 John 5:4-5}.  

~Scott~