Correcting
The Course
“So correct us, God, as you see
best. Don’t lose your temper. That would be the end of us.” Jeremiah 10:24
Bob Mumford, in his book called Halftime,
describes an analogy that helps us to understand what God wants to do in us. Most
of us are familiar with the concept of “halftime” being the time in a football
or basketball game when the team goes to the locker room.
The coach helps them do a couple things: 1) Look at what they’ve done in the first
half and 2) Correct what they need to change in order to win in the second
half. He talks about the fact that
each of us needs to experience a halftime in life. Not necessarily a mid-life
crisis but a place where we stop and evaluate what we really want to leave
behind in life.
The problem is that most people never get
beyond the idea of trying to move from success to significance.
Success is everything that counts on this side of heaven…but little to
no value for eternity. Significance is
everything that counts the minute you take your first step into heaven.
In Gordon MacDonald’s book, Mid-Course
Corrections, he shares the
idea that life requires that we make
adjustments. He writes, “Apollo 11 was a tribute to modern
technology: No foul ups; no glitches. Man had accomplished the impossible
without a hitch. In fact, Apollo Missions 11 and 12 were so error-free they
seemed almost routine. The world resumed breathing. The television ratings for
moonwalks began to decline. When Apollo 13 lifted off from the Kennedy
Launch Center, the mood of anxious anticipation had given way to a sense of
smug certainty. We’ve done this before, and we will do it again. On
April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 entered the earth’s orbit, shed the remnants of its
Saturn 5 booster rocket, and shot away toward its silent silver destination.
Everything was "A-O-K." Days
after the launch, an unscheduled, understated message crackled over the Mission
Control loudspeakers. The calm voice of
flight commander James Lovell observed matter-of-factly, "Houston … We have a problem.
And what a problem it was. An oxygen tank on the outside of the
service module had ruptured, severely damaging the craft. The bad news poured
in. First, the moon mission itself was scrubbed. Apollo 13 would have to fire its retro-rockets
and return to earth. As the damage was surveyed, it became apparent that the
command module could not supply the energy and air to sustain the three crew
members through re-entry. They would have to climb into the lunar lander and
use its supplies to survive. Then, the most sobering development of all.
Because of the radically altered course back to earth, Apollo 13’s return home
would be limited to a very precise and narrow path. Missing the painfully small re-entry window
meant catastrophe. If the craft came in too steeply, it would incinerate like a
falling star. If the angle of attack was too high, the command module would
skip off the atmosphere like a smooth stone on a calm lake. There would not be
enough fuel or oxygen for a second chance. What would you have done in James
Lovell’s shoes? In Houston, scores of
the brightest and best scientific minds were hard at work calculating,
planning, and anticipating every contingency. More than guess work, hunches,
and the old college try were required to bring the crippled craft home. But,
on the other hand, the Apollo crew was well-trained and experienced. As
test pilots they had encountered life and death situations before. The
astronauts were faced with a clear choice; they could rely on the vast
resources of ground control, or give it their best shot, on their own
initiative, and hope for the best. Apollo 13 managed to thread that crucial
re-entry needle. Rather than swallowing hard and trying to be self-sufficient,
James Lovell and crew meticulously heeded instructions from Mission Control.
Tragedy was averted because the astronauts trusted a perspective greater than
their own. Dependency, invested in the right place, saw them home safely and in
one piece.”
Life doesn’t always work the way that we
want it to. Sometimes, corrections are needed to make
the changes. When we’ve drifted
from Christ…we need a correction. When
we are entangled in sin…we need a correction. When our attitude has become hardened…we need
a correction. Thankfully, He knows
exactly how to get us back on course. We can honestly exclaim, “God,
I have a problem.” See if He
doesn’t get you safely back into His arms.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) Think of a time in your life where you
drifted off course and God brought you back.
2) List an area where you are most prone to
struggle.
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
