We were returning to Timaru from Hamilton, and it took two flights on a smaller turbo-propeller plane.
One flight from Hamilton to Wellington and another from Wellington to Timaru.
On our second plane trip, I noticed three airport personnel on the ground through the window as soon as I took my seat.
A woman was testing the propeller in one hand while holding a mobile phone in the other hand. She was giving the propeller a spin while receiving instructions and reporting observations. Her two co-workers observed and provided feedback.
All passengers had already embarked and taken their seats when the flight attendant announced there would be a short delay because engineers were still checking the plane.
My wife said being delayed is better than being on an unsafe plane. As I watched the ground crew do their job through my window, I couldn’t help but think, “Are we in trouble?”
Finally, after 30 minutes, all checks were done. The attendant closed the plane’s door and announced the flight’s commencement.
How sure are we now that our plane will take us safely to our destination?
As a regular passenger, my only assurance is that I fully trusted that the flight captain and his team had done their best due diligence to ensure we safely arrived at our destination.
I don’t know the flight captain. I haven’t seen him nor his co-pilot because the cockpit is inaccessible to regular passengers, but I put my trust in the flight attendant’s words that the names she mentioned were real and capable people flying the craft.
Not only that, I must follow all that she instructs for a safe and orderly flight.
We can only pray for travelling mercies and grace, confident that we have the Almighty Pilot guiding and protecting us in our journey.
That is how faith works.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
If I can put my life on the line on an hour-long flight, placing my trust in the flight team whom I don’t know personally, then how much more to God who loves me, who sent His son, Jesus Christ, to redeem me from sin and give eternal life.
Amen.
Maybe because we have learnt to trust an unseen God it makes it easier to out our faith in those who fly planes?
Loved going in a 4 seater Palmerston North to Auckland once and to Taupo over crater lakes of mountains, once.
Completely fearless! But then I absolutely know that death is not the end…
Maybe that helps! Blessings from Porirua.