The Suggested Route

A few weeks ago, I had to travel to another city and was scheduled to fly back home on the latest flight out the very next day.  The day that I was to return, I would check my airline app to make sure that everything was going to leave on time.  Up until my arrival at the airport, there were no delays of any kind. Great sign! Well, after I boarded my “on time” plane, the wonderful idea of getting home on time, went away.

You see, what I wasn’t aware of was how bad the weather was at my destination.  I thought it was just rain, but it was actually a storm.  Any weather outside of sunny skies, can alter how you fly and absolutely how you land! Again, I boarded my plane, sat in my seat/buckled up, and went to sleep immediately…before we ever took off! But…I woke up 2 hours later. And we were still…on…the runway.

Ironically, once I woke up, the pilot makes the announcement that they were waiting on the air control traffic to give them the best route because of the storm.  Therefore, we weren’t taking off until the route was conducive to flying into such weather. 

My first thought was, “We’ve been sitting here for two hours and I had no idea!”

Then I thought, “How thankful am I for a pilot who will wait for the suggested…route?”

For iPhone users, when you click on the maps app and enter your destination, most of the time you will get three options: the fastest route, the route with fewer turns, and the suggested route.  Interestingly, I found that the fastest route, isn’t necessarily the best route.  Most of the time, the other two options in my apps take longer, but could be safer and not so much maneuvering. 

And so, it goes with life.

You see, by the pilot waiting for the air traffic control to give him their suggestion, it caused our ride to be smooth and the landing was even better!  And get this…we went around the storm and only experienced a little wind!

I think you know where I’m going with this.

Sometimes what God suggests may take a little longer. But the beauty is that you still get to your destination…safely!  What could’ve been a horrible flight and landing turned out to be wonderful because someone listened to people who could see things they couldn’t.   

I’m sure the pilot was ready to take off and get everybody home, but because of what we’re going to run into, he had to patiently wait for the proper instructions before leaving on his mission.  When you’re clear on your mission, there will be certain times that you still have to wait for instructions to be successful!

The planned routes we create for ourselves most of the time, don’t factor in altering situations, like bad weather.  However, God always knows what lies ahead…He knows if there are any detours…He can see it all…He’s above it all. Another component to this, is had the pilot not listened, the storm could’ve made it impossible for us to land at all!  Can you imagine getting home and not being able to land?  This is why waiting for His instructions are vital and pivotal to our plans, our missions, and our endeavors, every. single. time.

How many times have I planned my own route and almost messed up the timing of my arrival? Or even chanced never arriving?????

PLENTY…LOL!!!

The suggested route may take longer, but will always serve the same purpose.

The suggested route is easily the least popular, but most beneficial to your growth.

The suggested route will save your life and cause you to dodge the severity of storms and only experience a little wind.

The author of a story knows the ending of it before anyone else. Trust the author of your story. His suggestions will always “nudge” you in the right direction. Who wants to go the wrong way when they don’t have to? It’s not important to be first, it’s important to have faith. Faith in the One who makes the suggestions.

Don't get in a hurry, but take time and wait…for the suggested route:)