“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
James 1:17 ( NASB)
There was an interesting story on the news about a year ago. A young female rookie pilot was taking off in a small plane in Pontiac, Michigan. It was only her third solo flight. After she took off, a veteran pilot who was also about to take off, noticed that her front landing gear just fell off. He quickly contacted her by radio, introducing himself and telling the young pilot what just happened. Knowing it takes an experienced pilot to land a plane without its landing gear, with a calm and confident voice, he guided her step by step, helping her to make a safe landing.
He later learned that the young pilot’s name was Taylor, which was also his own daughter’s name. Her voice was shaken but she followed his instructions as he calmly guided her, step by step. Afterward, Taylor said that it was his calm voice that helped her to follow his instructions and safely land her plane. If she had landed the plane on her own, it could have flipped upside down, resulting in a crash with injuries, and possibly bursting into flames.
God intervenes and protects us in exceptional ways, sometimes by sending His invisible helpers, like angels, and sometimes by sending a qualified person, in the right moment, to guide us to safety.
When I heard this story on the news, I thought about how valuable that calming voice of a veteran pilot was, who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The whole event was miraculous. The experienced pilot being there at the right time, was the first miracle, and the second miracle was his ability to guide her to a safe landing. He had nerves of steel to calmly talk her through a dangerous situation and she had nerves of steel to follow his instructions, without freezing in panic.
All the right things had to line up with a successful ending like this. It’s the right person at the right time, and it all lined up too perfectly for it to be a coincidence. It was a gift from above.
Scripture says that every good thing and every perfect gift is from above. Not some, but every good and perfect thing. If it’s good and perfect, it came from God. We may think we are flying solo sometimes, but God is always watching, and if our landing gear falls off, a calming voice will redirect us back to a safe landing.
Jesus is our veteran pilot, having experienced every kind of adversity before we ever did. We may not have nerves of steel, but Jesus does. He sends us His good and perfect gifts, which may look like coincidences, but He has always been watching.
In every stage or journey in our life, we have been on His radar, and He is calmly and softly speaking to the radio of our souls. When we commit our life into God’s hands, we start to see God’s hand in every part of our life.
Thank you Jesus, for looking out for us in the many ways that have been miracles, and not coincidences. Keep our hearts tuned in to your soft, calm voice, and lead us safely to our heavenly landing, so we may express our gratefulness for all eternity. Amen