CAPTAIN COOL
Here’s a devotional I just submitted to The Hamilton News for publication in their Pastor’s Pen column for this week:
Nearly three years ago, on January 15, 2009, an unknown commercial pilot named Chesley Sullenberger became famous. It wasn’t his plan. As a matter of fact, he became reluctantly famous.
His plane, a huge Airbus A320, dubbed US Airways Flight 1549, took off on a routine flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina.
As the plane rose in the skies it flew through a flock of geese, taking out both engines. Immediately the plane lost power. The pilot and co-pilot calmly radioed back to the control tower for advice on an airport they could land at. There was only seconds to make a decision. The control tower gave them two options.
Captain Sullenberger, running all his options through his trained mind, replied, “Negative, we’re gonna be in the Hudson.” Once he had made the debatable commitment, there was no turning back. He calmly ordered the passengers to “prepare for impact” and set the falling plane gently down in the Hudson River.
He refused to be panicked by the stresses all around him and the voices of advice, and followed his decision out to the end. The rest is history. They all survived and Captain Sullenberger earned the nickname ‘Captain Cool’. How did he find such calm peace under such stress? The answer is he trained for it.
What have you prepared for in life? If a health or family crisis hit your life, do you have a default setting for dealing with these, or would you panic under the stress?
The Bible advises us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).