who is your pilot? By Chaplain David Trogdon Lessons learned in the passenger's seat...     To learn more about Free Will Baptist Chaplains, visit www.homemissions.net.

Recently, I was blessed to be able to spend a few days with our Task Force Troy Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen at Camp Speicher, Iraq. We flew by helicopter (Blackhawk) on the way up and back on a C-130.

I noticed something about both flights. At no point did the pilot ask for my help or advice about how to fly the aircraft. Why not? Did the pilots know that even though I had flown many times, I wasn’t a pilot and had no clue how to fly a helicopter or airplane? Did they know that I had no idea how to get where we were going? Do you think they had made this trip numerous times before and knew they didn’t need my help?

The good news for all of us was that both pilots were fully qualified and capable and did, in fact, get us safely to our destination, without any help, advice, guidance, or assistance from me.

While it may seem silly, foolish, even crazy for someone who has never flown before to try to fly a helicopter or airplane all by themselves, we do it all the time in life. Rather than trusting God to guide us and carry us through life, we take control of our lives and take the lives of our loved ones into our own hands. Even though God wrote “the Book” (Bible) on how to live, be happy, have a good marriage, raise a family, have a meaningful life, and even more importantly, how to make it to Heaven, somehow we think we can do better than the God who created and runs the universe.

Even though God is omniscient and omnipotent, we think we are smarter and know more about our lives than He does. Even though God is omnipresent, we are afraid of being alone, and even though God loves us enough to give His own Son for us, we don’t trust Him to take care of us and provide for all our needs. It all really comes down to this; we just like to be in control and think that we know what we are doing. That really isn’t the case. This is why so many lives and homes “crash and burn,” and why so many lives are devastated and left in shambles.

Take it from a chaplain who has seen it and learned it over and over again (and is still learning it), the ONLY way for us to be truly happy, successful, and to make it safely to our heavenly home is to surrender control of our lives to God.

By the way, He isn’t interested in being your “co-pilot” (sorry if you have the bumper sticker on your car back home). God knows what He is doing, loves you a billion times more than anyone else loves you, knows where He is going, and He is the only way for you to find true joy, peace, happiness, love, meaning, and eternal life. He is your pilot, and He doesn’t need your help.

So, when it comes to your life and your eternal life, let God be the Lord of your life. To do otherwise would be silly, foolish, or even crazy. If you trust God, I promise your trip will go far more smoothly, and you are guaranteed to make it safely to your final destination (Heaven).

About the Writer: In early May 2008, Chaplain David Trogdon received his promotion in rank from Captain to Major. Congratulations to Chaplain Trogdon.