And then religion broke out!

We seem to talk to God more often when we are having difficulties in our lives.  It’s just hard for us to find time to even think about God sometimes. Our biggest challenge in life is to include God in all we do in this world. He is sending His Spirit to us continually, but if we don’t focus on it, we miss the message.

A friend of mine told me about a trip his father once made on a major airline. It seems that as the plane was beginning to lose altitude as it came close to the destination, the pilot could not get the landing gear to deploy. A three hour circling of the airport began as the pilot tried to get the landing gear to deploy and the airport began to prepare for a potential crash landing. My friend’s father said that, “religion broke out all over the cabin.”

Since I don’t have any idea about the spiritual life of any of those passengers, it’s not for me to comment on their individual devoutness. The story, however; does make us think about our devoutness and if we’re giving God the attention He expects from us, His children, in the seemingly normal times of our lives.  

James 5:13-15 informs us in saying, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”

I have learned to try to include God in every moment of my life.  God’s revelation to me during my 1993 brain surgery event changed me forever.  To borrow from Marcus Borg’s book title, I was “Meeting Jesus again for the first time.” The Spirit of God came upon me like never before. I wonder if any passengers on the plane with the landing gear issue felt a peace as they prayed to God. I would hope so. I can certainly understand how “religion broke out”, so to speak, in a situation like that.

Regarding my friend’s father’s comment, maybe religion should have broken out all over the cabin. It’s easy to joke about it after the fact and safe landing. St. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

During my revelation experience in my 10-hour brain surgery, everything seemed to be positive in the presence of the Lord. One particular part of scripture seemed to echo in my thinking. That echo was Psalm 91: 11-12 as it kept informing me: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.  On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”

As regards our seeking God in all aspects of our lives, we have to overcome our own inertia. You’ve probably heard the general description of Newton’s Laws of motion: ‘things in motion tend to stay in motion and things at rest tend to stay at rest.’ So it is in our lives in being in motion or resting when it comes to connecting with God. We must be intentional, active and repetitive in seeking God in our lives.

Our Faith in God should “break out” in and around us all the days of our lives and as Psalm 23:6 tells us: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”