1001, 1002, 1003, 1004…
That’s the count that begins in my head after a short prayer, the second my plane begins to roar down the runway on takeoff.
Counting is one of my little tricks to distract me from focusing on the myriad of unthinkable horrors that could potentially occur as I’m thrust down the runway at 200 miles per hour into the wind that is supposed to lift and keep a 700,000-pound tube of metal in the air.
I’ve always had a fear of flying. Not so much a fear of heights, although I’m not a huge fan of that either, but a sense of being out of control. Now, I know the stats should grant me some peace. Far more people die every year in car crashes than in air disasters. But the thing with a car is that if an important part of the engine malfunctions, you usually have the ability to pull over and stop. Not so much at 30,000 feet.
There was a time when every little bump or seemingly out-of-place noise during flight would have me clutching the armrests. On every bank of the airplane, my legs would tense alternately as if somehow I had the ability to bring the airplane back to level.
I’ve come a long way from that time, thanks to methods I’ve devised to distract myself… music, reading, and well… 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004…
I share this not to recommend that anyone with a similar fear of flying adopt these methods. I recognize distraction as a tool, but by no means the best or most effective one.
In Hebrews 11, the Apostle Paul writes of those who, by faith, performed amazing feats in their service to God.
Those who “subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” — Hebrews 11:33–34
The stories of their bravery and valor make my occasional terror on the runway seem rather trivial.
They too used a method of distraction to deal with the potential danger and peril that surrounded them, but it was far more powerful, far more effective than merely some counting routine.
Faith.
Paul follows their stories with encouragement for you and me to tap into that same power when dealing with the perils and dangers, real or imagined, that we face in our walk in this world.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” — Hebrews 12:1–2
Fear? Anxiousness? Paul says lay them aside. Put them out of your mind. Don’t focus on them. Instead, focus on the One who has gone before us, the One who promises to get us through whatever peril we might face to the hope of an eternity with Him in His Kingdom.
The truth is, putting our focus on God is far more than a tool to distract us. There is power there.