Despite what bumper stickers say, God is NOT a Christian’s Co-Pilot. He is (must be) our PILOT. We are not co-equal to God in any way. God is never second. He must ALWAYS be first.
If we say God is our Co-Pilot, we might as well say WE ARE IN CONTROL and that we’ll summon his help if things “really get out of hand.”
The only positive I can take out of the “God is my Co-Pilot” line is that a believer is NEVER alone. That is 100% TRUE.
It reminds me that millions of Christians around the world are not living with God as their pilot or even co-pilot. They have turned their faith on AUTO-PILOT and most of them are headed for an explosive and fiery crash.I know that to be true because it happened to me early in my faith walk when I strutted through life with a hubris that had me so self-absorbed that I couldn’t see anything or anybody but myself and my money and my success.
But (thankfully) God taught me a valuable lesson from this excruciatingly painful experience that I will never forget. That learning is burnished into the patina of this ministry: The only way to avert a crash in our life is to turn “Auto-Pilot” Faith OFF and “God Pilot” Faith ON.
“All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 17:47
AUTO-PILOT FAITH is often a substitute for fully activating our faith in surrender and obedience to Christ. Heck, that’s the easy route (until it’s not). Believers are enticed to hit the FAITH AUTO-PILOT switch to make walking with God “easier.”
Rarely mentioned is the delusional view that AUTO-PILOT FAITH will minimize our sin because God “won’t see it.” That is a lie. AUTO-PILOT FAITH leads to MORE sin. WHY? Because when we try to control our life, it means God has been subordinated and that distances us from his discerning direction in the choices we make. Bad choices without God’s sovereign and powerful involvement lead to sin.
That’s why God must be our PILOT and why we must LISTEN to his direction.
I ask God to remind me every day that he is my PILOT and any temptation I have to turn on AUTO-PILOT FAITH must be rejected immediately.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What level is your faith’s AUTO-PILOT set on? Low? Medium? High? What could you do today that would move you closer to hitting the kill switch that turns the controls of your life over to GOD as the PILOT?
“…Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15
