Post by Hutson Lindner on Oct 10, 2012 14:28:09 GMT -6
Dear Friends,
I know this is completely random on my part, but I must share a moment of personal "illumination" with each of you. I have volunteered to lead a study of "A Purpose Driven Life" at our church, and have been re-reading / making notes along the lines of lesson plans. I'm sure many of you have gained so much from preparing a lesson as I have just now experienced; when I feel our Lord rewards us with His Word not returning void.
Here is the part that really "nailed" (no punned intended) me this AM (from Day 10 in the book); quoting from the book now:
"Admitting our limitations": A second barrier to total surrender is our 'pride'. We don't want to admit
that we're just creatures and not in charge of everything. It is the oldest temptation: "You'll be like God!" from Genesis 3:5. That desire to have complete control is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Life is a struggle, but what most people don't realize is that our struggle, like Jacob's, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there's no way we are going to win that struggle."
This chapter goes on in much more depth on the issue of complete surrender and "coming the end of ourselves". What struck me the hardest was the essence of trying to be in control was equal to being like God. While I have heard (with my brain) such a comparison many times before, I feel I may have just heard it with my heart and soul to the point where it may take firm root. No one in their right mind would admit to being on a course that is submitting to the "oldest temptation" or being like Satan.
As pilots, husbands, fathers, and leaders are we not called to "be in control"? We are expected by our roles in life to maintain an air of "thinking ahead of the aircraft" and we may carry this over into our personal lives. We associate such a process with being "squared away" and using good common sense. We are programmed to be prepared, have a back up plan; messing up is out of the question in our strange pilot world. In the back of our minds, we know we cannot possibly think of all the contingencies, but yet we try out of good intentions and attempts to fulfill our assignments. To magnify the situation, our flying affords us the blessing of soaring like eagles, being special, and as an RAF pilot so eloquently wrote, "reaching out and touching the face of God". We are expected to walk with a confident swagger as we tame physical laws and harness danger; keeping death at bay. Just as a patient undergoing surgery expects the doctor to be "in control", so are we daily expected to be at a 110%, which is mathematically impossible.
We are called to "aim high", have lofty goals, succeed, and not fail. Many of us have literally been asked by life to participate in events we knew would surely fail. I watched the systematic dis-manting of a company's culture and ethos that was highly successful and then literally witnessed some of our a/c crash from the sky. Every ounce of our common sense and clear, quick analysis points towards roads to be avoided, yet often we are required to dutifully walk such paths. Many of you were asked to participate in war campaigns doomed to failure before you were "wheels in the well."
The book goes on towards: "We accept our humanity, intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment............." & for me ---> depression.
I ask for your prayers that our Lord will take these things and etch them upon my heart and soul so I may view today and tomorrow in a new light of calm acceptance of such truth. I ask for your prayers as we approach this study at my church as I am faced with an audience (denomination) whom I fear may have strayed from the basics of Biblical inerrancy.
Thanks for letting me share, 'cause I know many of you "walk with that swagger" today, but I know your hearts are humble and you have empathy for the balance we must strive to find in our daily lives at work and at home.
Blessings to all,
Hut Lindner
I know this is completely random on my part, but I must share a moment of personal "illumination" with each of you. I have volunteered to lead a study of "A Purpose Driven Life" at our church, and have been re-reading / making notes along the lines of lesson plans. I'm sure many of you have gained so much from preparing a lesson as I have just now experienced; when I feel our Lord rewards us with His Word not returning void.
Here is the part that really "nailed" (no punned intended) me this AM (from Day 10 in the book); quoting from the book now:
"Admitting our limitations": A second barrier to total surrender is our 'pride'. We don't want to admit
that we're just creatures and not in charge of everything. It is the oldest temptation: "You'll be like God!" from Genesis 3:5. That desire to have complete control is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Life is a struggle, but what most people don't realize is that our struggle, like Jacob's, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there's no way we are going to win that struggle."
This chapter goes on in much more depth on the issue of complete surrender and "coming the end of ourselves". What struck me the hardest was the essence of trying to be in control was equal to being like God. While I have heard (with my brain) such a comparison many times before, I feel I may have just heard it with my heart and soul to the point where it may take firm root. No one in their right mind would admit to being on a course that is submitting to the "oldest temptation" or being like Satan.
As pilots, husbands, fathers, and leaders are we not called to "be in control"? We are expected by our roles in life to maintain an air of "thinking ahead of the aircraft" and we may carry this over into our personal lives. We associate such a process with being "squared away" and using good common sense. We are programmed to be prepared, have a back up plan; messing up is out of the question in our strange pilot world. In the back of our minds, we know we cannot possibly think of all the contingencies, but yet we try out of good intentions and attempts to fulfill our assignments. To magnify the situation, our flying affords us the blessing of soaring like eagles, being special, and as an RAF pilot so eloquently wrote, "reaching out and touching the face of God". We are expected to walk with a confident swagger as we tame physical laws and harness danger; keeping death at bay. Just as a patient undergoing surgery expects the doctor to be "in control", so are we daily expected to be at a 110%, which is mathematically impossible.
We are called to "aim high", have lofty goals, succeed, and not fail. Many of us have literally been asked by life to participate in events we knew would surely fail. I watched the systematic dis-manting of a company's culture and ethos that was highly successful and then literally witnessed some of our a/c crash from the sky. Every ounce of our common sense and clear, quick analysis points towards roads to be avoided, yet often we are required to dutifully walk such paths. Many of you were asked to participate in war campaigns doomed to failure before you were "wheels in the well."
The book goes on towards: "We accept our humanity, intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment............." & for me ---> depression.
I ask for your prayers that our Lord will take these things and etch them upon my heart and soul so I may view today and tomorrow in a new light of calm acceptance of such truth. I ask for your prayers as we approach this study at my church as I am faced with an audience (denomination) whom I fear may have strayed from the basics of Biblical inerrancy.
Thanks for letting me share, 'cause I know many of you "walk with that swagger" today, but I know your hearts are humble and you have empathy for the balance we must strive to find in our daily lives at work and at home.
Blessings to all,
Hut Lindner