Discomfort

Dee and I live about 20 minutes from the Dulles International Airport. At any part of the day, we
can see planes making their approach to land and see them climbing to their cruising altitude
when taking off. We can also hear them when we are indoors as they fly over our neighborhood.

When I see planes taking off, I often wonder how long is the estimated flight time for those
passengers and flight crew. But when I see planes landing, I am thinking to myself that this must
be the best part of the trip for those passengers and crew members. The relief that they will be
landing shortly and soon will not be restricted to the confines of an airplane.

Recently, Dee and I took a trip to Washington state out of Dulles International Airport. Our flight
time was about 4 hours and 30 minutes from Dulles to Seattle. Our original flight was canceled
because of mechanical issues, so Delta booked us on another flight for the next morning on
Alaska Airlines.

Our original seats with Delta had us sitting together in a 3-seat row with Dee sitting by the
window and I sitting in the aisle with no one between us. (Ahh comfort!) But after being
rebooked on Alaska, our seats were now middle seats with Dee in row 21 and I in row 22. To say
the least, our plane ride was not comfortable.

As soon as we took off, I was looking forward to landing. Throughout the journey on that plane,
there was a voice that kept telling me, “Hold on, your discomfort will not last forever, it is going
to cease soon.” After a grueling 4 hours, I finally heard those heavenly words from the captain,
“Prepare the cabin for landing, we are making our final descent into Seattle International
Airport.”

This experience had a spiritual lesson as well. Sometimes in our lives we go through discomfort
and things do not go according to plan. But may you be encouraged by the words of Psalms 30:5,
“...weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Whatever discomfort you
may be experiencing today, I encourage you to hold on for it will not last forever. Soon our
captain Jesus will descend from above and our journey through the discomforts of sin will end.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel,
and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus,
we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Grace and Peace

Pastor Semu

1 Comment


Ryan - September 9th, 2023 at 7:24am

Great message Pastor!