In the winter of 2009, a large passenger
plane made an emergency landing in New York’s Hudson River. The pilot, Captain
Chesley Sullenberger, who landed the plane safely with no casualties, was later
asked about those moments in the air when he was faced with a life-or-death
decision. “One way of looking at this,” he said, “might be that for 42 years
I’ve been making small, regular deposits in this bank of experience, education,
and training. And on [that day] the balance was sufficient so that I could make
a very large withdrawal.”
Most of us will at some time face a crisis.
Perhaps it will be a job termination or the results of a medical test, or the
loss of a precious family member or friend. It is in those times that we must
dig down deep into the reserves of our spiritual bank account.
And what might we find there? If we have
enjoyed a deepening relationship with God, we’ve been making regular “deposits”
of faith. We have experienced His grace (2 Cor. 8:9; Eph. 2:4-7). We trust
the promise of Scripture that God is just and faithful (Deut. 32:4; 2 Thess.
3:3).
God’s love and grace are available when His children need to make a “withdrawal” (Ps. 9:10; Heb. 4:16).
