Day 34: The Tower: Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate

Hebrews 2:1: (KJV) “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.”

While in the control tower, I noticed three words printed on the glass that surrounds primary flight control: Aviate, Navigate, and Communicate. (This glass acts as a bulletin board. Plane numbers, training cycles, and completed or uncompleted tasks are routinely written on this glass.) The Mini told me that they erase other marks and notes from the glass, but those three words remain. They are a constant reminder of what is most important as the ship launches and recovers planes. Pilots are expected to aviate, to fly. Their training teaches them to fly. Then, they must navigate. They must know where they are at all times. There are times when this task is controlled by instruments. Whatever the means, their constant awareness of position is crucial to themselves, other aircraft, and the ship from which they are launched and recovered. Finally, they must communicate. They maintain constant contact with the tower (the Boss and Mini). Imagine the chaos that would ensue if communication were not constant and confirming.

The writer in Hebrews understood the activities that are crucial to the Christian lifestyle. We can draw direct and easy to understand parallels to the requirement of the pilots to aviate, navigate, and communicate. We must always aviate—remain spiritually in flight. We must navigate—know where we are in our Christian journeys. It would serve us well to know the flight paths of those around us too. Lastly, we must communicate—keep in contact with God and each other. Our success as a Christian depends on how well we are able to perform these important tasks. Our request:

Keep me aloft in you Lord, soaring above the dangers of this life,
Always knowing where I am, free from misery, disillusionment, and strife,
Purpose in my heart to consult you continuously during life’s flight plan,
That I won’t endanger others or myself when I prepare to land.

Questions to Consider:

• Have I filed my fight plan with our spiritual air boss?
• What are the benefits and dangers?

Reflection for the Day:

• Consider the joy of knowing God in Christ and how knowing gives us the ability to aviate, navigate, and communicate with him.