I was thinking about the shared stories that we often tell about ourselves and how much we can relate to one another’s trials and tribulations.  Although it may help to know the individual and all of the details of a story, it is amazing how much we can relate to stories that we have no connection to what so ever. 

For instance

Here’s a story about someone we will call John.  John has worked his whole adult life at different things and for different companies; not that he wouldn’t have wanted to have a career that he build at one place and could retire there someday.  Let’s face it, companies these days come and go and so do opportunities and besides, John has a family to take care of so he does what he does to support them.

John goes to church and God has always looked out for him and his family.  He tries to be a good person and have a relationship with God.  But now John’s job is in jeopardy.  The company he is working for is going through hard times and says they might sell the firm to a competitor that has been known for downsizing.  If that happens then John knows he may lose his job because he has no reputation at the new company and the word on the street is that if the companies merge then this location will most likely get closed.

At church he shares his concern with others and they tell him that God is large and in-charge.  God is not going to let anything happen to him.  But John can’t get the worry out of his head. 

What if he loses his Job?  There will be lots of people out of work to compete with whatever opportunities still exist.
How will he pay his bills?  What if he can’t pay rent?
He could lose everything?  Then what would he do.

You see, you don’t have to know John to relate to his story.  Maybe you have been there or know someone who has.  Maybe you have been like the person who tried to encourage John and knows how hard that is when someone is in a downward spiral of doubt and worry and before you know it you spiral out of control and head to a fiery crash.  In Aviation this is known as a spiral dive or as a death spiral.  It’s where a pilot is unaware of a slow turn, maybe in a cloud bank, the plane goes into a unnoticed spiral and begins to pick up speed.  Then, the nose lifts and the plane begins to lose control and just falls out of the sky spiraling toward the ground.  Without an experienced pilot to recognize it before its too late, a crash is sure to follow.

We too can let worry and doubt spiral us out of control and soon we have no control over our lives and nothing we can do or anyone can snap us out of it.  What can we do to have the kind of faith that would prevent this from happening?  Today we are going to talk about living faith and how to have it when things are really tough.  The title of the sermon is:

Overcoming the Death Spiral of Doubt with Living Faith

Living faith is not the kind of faith that disappears when times get tough.  Living faith is not the faith you only have when you are not in peril.  Living Faith is not just for the patriarch’s in the bible. 

When I chose my example story I purposely did not use a story from the bible.  Not that the stories from the bible are not the best for teaching this topic,  it’s just that often times we can feel like Bible characters are better equipped to overcome then ourselves.  Like Daniel in the Lion’s den, Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, or David with Goliath.  We know they had Living faith and they succeeded.

But they are in the Bible, naturally they would have it.  But it’s different for us, isn’t it?

Well what about us, are we really different?  I would say, in many ways we are different.  After all, these men had prophets to tell them God’s will.  We don’t have prophets to direct us when times get rough.  But we do have a few things they didn’t have access to.  You see they did not have a bible to read the words directly from God as well as examples from others they could follow.  What examples did any of these men have to prove they would survive?  They were not baptized with the Holy Spirit like we are and are not surrounded by converted people to try to talk us out of the worry death spiral we sometimes find ourselves in.  They also did not have the knowledge of what Christ did for us to help us realize how much God wants us to succeed.

They didn’t have our advantages.  And yet they succeeded anyway.  They overcame the world and trusted in God to lead them, and take care of them.  We too can have living faith but we must learn how.  It will take work.  Anything worth-while takes work. 

How does one get ahold of the fear, worry and doubt and have the kind of Living faith that surpasses the trials in life?  Philippians 4:6-7 give us the simple formula for peace of mind.

 

Philippians 4:6-7   6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

How wonderful it would be with a life with no anxiety.  Nothing to worry about.  Most people get part of this passage right. 

They do make their needs known to God.  They do ask for his help.  But then what?  But then you look up and the problems are still surrounding you.  What are you supposed to do now? What if the problem gets worse?  What if the worse possible outcome happens? 

And here we go again spiraling out of control.  How does this keep happening?  Well, just like airplanes, the situation comes about without our knowledge and if we are not trained to notice the signs, we can be swept away with it. So let’s talk about what we can do to overcome this situation.  Turn over to Galatians 2:20 - When we have real faith in the living God we can stand during difficult times.

NKJ 1 Timothy 4:10 For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

Key #1 Believe in your training

We are given so much instruction in our lives on how to prepare for tough times and notice the wiles of the devil that cause us to trip.  Likewise, pilots are extensively trained and taught not just flying, but extensively about the weather and geography to understand the surrounding dangers they might face and what to look for.  They fly mechanical simulators that allow them to experience flight without the danger of crashing when they make a mistake because they will make mistakes.  It’s so important to recognize mistakes early and know what to do to correct them.

You see, when you learn to fly there are two sets of regulations that govern all classes of civil aviation.  The first is the VFR and it stands for Visual Flight Rules.  VFR is the most common mode for operation of small aircraft.  This means that meteorological conditions must allow you adequate vision to see the horizon and obstacles you might encounter.  

Flying on Instruments

To fly through clouds and in poor visibility you come under IFR or Instrument Flight Rules.  This means that you are not able to trust your vision or other senses to keep the plane on course or even in the air.  Becoming IFR certified is much more difficult and many small plane pilots stick to only flying when weather permits.  In commercial aviation, we are used to taking off and landing bad weather and flying in planes with little to no visibility. 

I was recently watched a BT daily about flying by faith.  In it Steve Meyers talked about training that pilots go through to learn to fly by IFR and a particular class of students that got their first experience of flying by instruments alone.   They put them in a simulator and took away their vision and with the training each of them had they were able to fly blind without a problem. 

But then, they caused the simulator to fly in terrible weather where the plane was shaking with turbulence and being thrown about.  Then they noticed that 3 minutes was all these pilots lasted before they crashed their simulators.  At first they were OK but as the minutes passed they stopped believing in their training.  They looked to themselves for answers and then they crashed.  You see, when you add stress to any situation you begin to doubt your training and start trusting yourself.  In flying as in your faith this can have disastrous results.

What people may not know about flying is that our bodies use a number of sensors to give us the sensations of movement and aid our ability to navigate.  For instance, you have four systems that help send information to your brain and provide special orientation but two form the dominant role and are often the cause of disorientation.  The first is the visual system.  It is the dominant system of the two and is used to calibrate and reset the other. 

But visual distortions or mirages can fool the brain can put the pilot in grave danger.  The second system is found in the inner ear and contains the vestibular system that measures linear, angular, and gravitational forces and reinforces what we are seeing to give us the sense of movement. 

To demonstrate how the vestibular system is easily fooled, flight instructors will use a Barany chair that spins someone around while blindfolded.  The subject indicates which direction they are spinning using the sensors in the inner ear.  But if the chair speed is suddenly changed, or the pilot’s head tilts one way or the other, the occupant is only aware that there was a change but cannot tell how much of a change.  The person then guesses they have stopped or even changed direction when all they did was slow the rate of turn.

This is how pilots when flying in fog can begin turning when they think they are going straight.  This is how a death spiral can occur.  The plane begins to turn but the pilot does not feel enough of a change to sense he is turning.  The plane rotation increases and then the nose rises so the plane wants to stall and actually begin to fall out of the sky.  The pilot does not know they are in grave danger and can actually fly the plane into the ground.

This same thing can happen when we are in the midst of a trial.  The first thing we lose is our vision.  We cannot see the end of the trial and then our other senses try to understand what we are going through.  We forget our training and begin to doubt our future.  We begin to think we are doomed when we are safe in God’s hands. 

Take our example of John who might lose his job.  What happens if he gets that lay-off notice? Will his worst fears begin to be realized? What John needs to do is remember his training.  Look at this as an opportunity for growth rather than a punishing trial.

2 Samuel 22:31   31 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

I think about trials that might have been a short blip in my memory if not for the worry and stress that I added to the situation, the fact that I did not see the poor decisions that made the problem worse until I must be rescued to prevent disaster.  I spoke to a number of pilots about times they needed a trusted pilot to take over before a problem become too big.  A good pilot will remember his training and act before it’s too late.  Another thing a good pilot will do is to trust his instruments.

Key #2 Trust your instruments

The second key to building Living faith is to learn to trust your instruments.  Pilots have to learn to trust their instruments.  Just like the example of the Pilots in the simulators that could fly in good weather only using instruments but could only fly 3 minutes in bad weather, they had to learn to trust what their instruments told them and ignore their own senses that were steering them astray. 

Turn over to 2 Cor.1 

The Bible is our instrument panel that gives us our path and if we learn to trust it, even in rough weather, then we will get through ok. 

Just like Pilots, if we trust ourselves we are doomed.

 

2 Corinthians 1:9-11   9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,  10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,  11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.

 

Battling Anxiety

If you have ever battled anxiety you know how it is.  You know you are fine but you don’t feel fine, you feel like your life is at risk and anything might and even probably will happen.  I had one of those moments years ago where I thought I was very sick.  Turns out it was anxiety where I did not feel well and my brain did not know how to interpret the way I was feeling.  I have had a number of times where I had to battle the feeling that I was very sick when I had to tell myself I was OK.  Just having a doctor tell you that you will be fine is not all that it takes to snap out of it and gain control.  It takes lots of practice to learn to trust God and His Word. 

Key #3 Study the Rule Book

Another key to building faith is the study the rule book.  Pilots have to become weather experts to learn when to fly, where to fly, and how to identify dangerous situations.  I was talking recently to a pilot that is only VFR rated, meaning he can only fly in good weather.  That means he has to study to understand how weather can change and what to look for.  One time he was flying and fog started to appear all around him. 

Using his understanding of navigation and weather he was able to back track his way out of the impeding weather and get safely back to the airport.

The Bible is our rule book.  You can never study it too much.  The more you study the better prepared you are to face challenges ahead.  When I was going through those anxiety attacks, I found it very difficult to clear my mind of worry and doubt.  Too much stimulus was difficult, too much activity was beyond my ability, and I could not just talk myself out of these spells.  But what I could do was study.  I spent hours poring over the word of God.  In it I found comfort, encouragement, and knowledge about what I and others had gone through that was similar to me.  But best of all, while I was studying my anxiety faded almost away.  When I stopped it started to come back. Turn over to Romans 15:

 

Romans 15:1-6  NKJ We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.  3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me."

 

 

So chapter 15 starts off talking about what motivates us and fills our time.  Are we most interested in pleasing self, or do we live our lives for others.  If we do we have the right frame of mind of for the next part of this passage. 

Continuing on to verse 4.

 

4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.  5 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,  6 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

So Living Faith gives you the strength and confidence to get through difficult times without worry and doubt filling our minds with all kinds of dark thoughts.  Think about the hope that we have during the times in our lives when we are spiritually strong not leaving us when trials arrive.  That is what we can have when we are one with God and His Son.  Living faith is what we use every day.  Just like a skilled pilot who looks over his instruments even when things are going well to make sure everything is as it should be. 

Pilots will go through a checklist to make sure everything is as it should be before they go into the air.  The monitor all of the critical systems and sensors to make sure they are safe.  If we conduct our spiritual life the same way we will be strengthening our faith at every opportunity, making sure that dangers are kept away from us and that we are prepared for stressful times.  How long can we last through a stressful trial?  For some it’s only 3 minutes and then doubt and worry begin to destroy them.  We need to overcome and not let the death spiral get us.  Living Faith is the answer to the Death Spiral of Worry and doubt.  It is the confidence that we are exactly where God wants us to be and we are about to learn what God wants us to learn.

Remember that Pilots train for the worst because they know that what they face in the air is life and death.  They take it very seriously.  They train, and the study, and then the practice to make sure they are prepared for difficult situations. 

What do we face brethren?  We also face death but a much scarier death then just the physical life.  Remember Paul’s words to the church in Corinth about overcoming this world in 1 Corinthians 9:

1 Corinthians 9:25-27   25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.  26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.  27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Paul starts this thought in verse 24 where he says:

 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

It’s not that only one will get to the kingdom, if that was true then Jesus already filled that position.  But what Paul is telling us that we need to think about that feeling when you are in a race and everyone is trying to win and if your success is not guaranteed.  To win you really have to want it, you really have to work for it and you really have to take it seriously.  That’s what Paul meant when he said, run in such a way that you may obtain it.  There is another way this race analogy fits, and that is Satan is trying to win by causing us to lose. 

We are not going to let him win.  We need living faith each and every day, in good times and in bad.  We need to be prepared for those difficult times to come. 

First we need to believe in our training.  We hear sermons, bible studies and encouragement from other members and we need to trust that when stress starts to build.  

Second we have to trust our instruments.  When the word of God says one thing, and every sense in our body is giving us a different direction, then we need to trust our instruments and not ourselves.  There is a way which seems right to a man but the end leads to death.  That is just as true in life as it is for pilots.

Lastly we need to study the rule book.  When was the last time you went through and recertified.  Pilots have to reprove their skills from time to time for the FAA to allow them to fly.  Our rule book is the bible and you may think your foundation is secure because you studied it really hard long ago but the truth is, knowledge and understanding, like the ability to fly safely, fades over time and without refreshers, you can put yourself, even your very spiritual existence, at risk.

When we take our faith seriously and live it every day, then the Death Spiral of worry and doubt will never get us.  We will go through storms but we will last well past 3 minutes, we will come through with flying colors.