“Houston, we have a problem”
On day 2 of their mission to the moon, the Apollo 13 astronauts experienced a catastrophic explosion that crippled their space craft and doomed their survival. The teams on earth, at mission control sprang into action innovating dozens of unforeseen adjustments to the unforeseen challenges. The flight director ordered them that, “failure is not an option.” The extraordinary safe outcome of the potential disaster has since been called NASA’s finest hour.
The Garden of Eden, Noah’s Flood, The Tower of Babel, the “New” Testament, all demonstrate mid-course corrections. The entire Bible is a record of mid-course corrections on the way to the certain end that’s arrived at in Revelation. Our life’s journey is mirrored by Gods’ journey through history for us to draw encouragement from. It reveals that God’s unfailing help can be called for in any crisis.
Idealism views failures in life as cancellations of destiny. But breakdowns and failures are real. When converted into a new flight plan they can be just as extraordinary as perfect performance, even more so. We need only allow heavenly mission control to work its amazing adjustments to them.
Saul was on his mission to Damascus when his destination was dramatically interrupted and then reset by God with a drastic mid-course correction. Even his name was changed to fit his new mission. Thankfully, he accepted the adjustment. But he sure didn’t foresee it coming when he loaded up the donkey that morning.
Someone rightly said, “if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.” Changes in how you think the course of your life is going to go are certain to happen along the way. Things can occur that you were sure would never happen to you. Divorce, deaths etc. How often have you heard someone start a sentence with, “I never thought I’d…”
Joni Erickson had the course of her life altered when a tragic diving accident left her paralyzed at age sixteen. She later became a world renown spokesperson for Christ that has inspired millions with her courage. She once said she wouldn’t trade the sweetness of Christ for the ability to walk. That’s a mid-course correction.
“All things work together for good,” means, not all things are good, but they can be. Our “flight director” and His team see to it. Hope is never aborted, it’s just adjusted at every turn in the course of our journey. We experience His hope if we believe He’s in control. I look back in wonder at how God got me to where He wanted me to go.
The astronauts called out, “Houston, we have a problem.” Our “mission control” promises, “whosever shall call upon The Name of The Lord, shall be saved.” Praise God, failure is not an option for Him either.