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FeaturedSpirituality

Sailing Above the Circumstances

by Judy Knox Charis Christian Church August 1, 2023August 3, 2023
written by Judy Knox Charis Christian Church August 1, 2023August 3, 2023

This is what a hot-air balloon looks like from inside the basket. I had the privilege of experiencing this a few years ago. The ride was delightful and full of surprises. 

The biggest surprise was finding that my hair wasn’t blowing in the wind. In fact, I couldn’t even feel or hear the wind. Yet, I knew it had to be blowing because I could tell that the balloon kept traveling sideways. We were part of the wind, and whichever way it went, we went. It didn’t feel as if we were moving. We seemed to be suspended in absolute stillness, while the ground below moved slowly past.  

Another surprise was the amazing quietness around us as we sailed above the Earth. The only sounds were our voices and the occasional loud whoosh of hot air being blasted upward to keep us aloft. As we sailed above the landscape, activities going on below seemed remote and disconnected from us.

How similar a balloon ride is to our spiritual lives. In God, “we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) When we allow ourselves to dwell in God’s presence, then wherever He goes, we go.

Whether or not we feel anything, we are in the flow of His Spirit, just as in the balloon we were one with the wind.

There is a hymn called The Heavenly Vision whose chorus begins with the line, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” It says that when we do that, “the things of Earth will grow strangely dim.” When I hear this song, it reminds me of the feeling I had while floating above the Earth in the balloon. The Apostle Paul admonished us to “set our affections on things above, not on things on the Earth” (Colossians 3:2), because our lives are “hidden with Christ in God.” 

By focusing on the pilot and the balloon, I felt secure in the basket. In the same way, we can focus on God’s love and be secure in His presence. Then, like the activities on the ground, our circumstances will fade. They won’t disappear, but when we’re transported to a place where we can see them from God’s perspective, they become less important.

Who knew a ride in a ballon would really be a picture of life with God

If you would like to learn more about changing your perspective to line up with the Word of God, visit us at Charis Christian Church at 4811 E. Julep St., Suite 101, in Mesa

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