Staying in Touch

by Tim Howard

Unless I am out of the country visiting a developing nation or located in some remote place without Internet or phone access, I communicate with my wife virtually every day. I value my conversations with her and have a strong desire to stay in touch.

Sometimes we misunderstand what the other is saying which comes with the territory when you are trying to communicate. Like the other day: My wife and I were sitting at a very busy intersection. I asked her if it was clear in her direction and could I proceed? She spoke one word and it was ‘GO.’ In response to her statement I stepped on the gas, quickly moved into oncoming traffic and nearly caused an accident. Out of frustration I questioned her about her statement. She responded to me with a piercing question; “What didn’t you understand about the word ‘NO?’

If you are going to communicate clearly you must talk and listen.

God really wants to talk with you but He also wants to be understood! Staying in touch with God on a regular basis – talking and listening – will help in your ability to hear correctly on a more consistent basis.

Some time ago we spent a weekend on the coast with some good friends. One of them was a pilot so we flew on his small aircraft and I noticed something interesting. While in flight he never took his headphones off. I learned something new that day.

During an airplane flight, there is constant communication that involves your plane. The air traffic controllers clear the plane for take-off and later at another tower, they will clear the pilot for landing. They stay in touch the whole time between the takeoff and the landing. Why? Because there is more to the flight than just the beginning and the end! The pilot needs to know if there are other planes nearby or of bad weather that demands a course change. It's good for the pilot not to turn off communication with the tower after he takes off. In Revelation 22:13 Jesus says: “I am the Alpha and the Omega the first and the last, the Beginning and the End.” But He’s also everything in between.

Here’s the problem. We allow ourselves to get very busy. We check in with the tower when we take off in the morning, and then we take off our headsets until it’s time to land in bed at the end of our flight.

In doing so, we set our selves up to make hundreds of little decisions on our own without consulting the Lord. No wonder we experience turbulence, get off course and sometimes we even crash.

In the Old Testament a man of God named Nehemiah was very busy serving his King but not too busy to check in with God. One day in the midst of a high priority conversation that would alter the course of his life, he took time to consult with God. His prayer only lasted a few moments but those few moments proved to be life changing.

From the very beginning God reveals Himself as one who wants to communicate regularly. He didn’t create things and then leave on vacation – never to be heard from again. He wants to stay in touch.
Staying in touch with the Air Traffic Controller will guide your plane but staying in tough with your Creator will guide your life.

If you want the safest route to the best destination, keep your headset on from takeoff to landing every day. Stay in touch with your Creator!