“Brace for Impact!”

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Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. — Proverbs 27:1

Not long ago I saw a picture of an Air Force Academy classmate of mine on the television news. The TV monitor at the airport I was passing through showed Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III—“Sully”—not only a classmate but a friend in my Academy cadet squadron that to this day defines a group of very close friends. Seeing on TV that Sully was Captain of the aircraft on which 155 people miraculously survived a water landing on the frigid Hudson River did not surprise me . . . . I was well aware of his capabilities in airmanship. In fact, since that US Airways Flight 1549 significant event in aviation, I’ve often told friends—Sully included—that if I were privileged to choose a captain to pilot such a stricken aircraft, he would be a top choice.

Nonetheless, seeing his picture that particular day shocked me. I was shocked back to a sense of reality . . . of where I was, in the airport. . . . and of what I’m doing, also an airline pilot. Like you who serve during deployment—whether overseas or at home—there is a stark sense of significance to where we are and what we’re doing. The awareness of our own mortality is not something that we take for granted—it is not far from our thoughts.

The truth is that we do not know what a day will bring. This could be a day that we face death and survive, as did the crew and passengers last January 15^th. . . . or not. Or perhaps this could be the day that the Lord returns! The question is—are we ready? Are we “braced for impact”?

A US Army Ranger and decorated combat veteran, now-Chaplain Jeff Struecker, recounts the moment with Task Force Ranger, in Somalia, when he had these thoughts: “If by some miracle of God I survived this situation, I would go home to my family. As a Christian I also knew if I died I’d go home to heaven and be with my Savior. So no matter what happens to me tonight, I’m going home. I’m going to be safe, I thought. From that moment on, I felt no fear.” (Jeff Struecker’s Bullet Proof Faith, p.6)

Do you have that assurance? Can you answer Jesus’ question in John 11:25 with a Yes!: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

With the assurance of salvation in Christ alone, the New Testament book of 1Thessalonians ends with a beautiful description of the return of our Lord, and its suddenness. Whether we, as Christians, have already passed in death, or are still alive, the Apostle Paul has this to say: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1Thessalonians 4:14-18 NASB)

That exhortation to encourage each other is also found in the fifth chapter. “. . . . let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1Thessalonians 5: 9-11 NASB)

In Christ, we are not only braced for impact, we are blessed. We are blessed and ready because we have one another to act as flight attendants to encourage us and reassure us of our readiness. After the Hudson River rescue I realized with fresh eyes how much a Flight Operations Manual reads like the Scripture verses of exhortation. In an emergency, flight attendants yell out, over and over, “the Litany”—as we call it in the commercial air transportation business:

“BEND OVER . . . HEADS DOWN . . . BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!”

Sully said that from the cockpit of Flight 1549—through the door loudly and clearly—he heard “the Litany.” Flight attendants instructed, coached, reassured . . . making sure that everyone was properly ready.

I now read the end of 1Thessalonians 5 with similar urgency, “. . .appreciate those who diligently labor among you . . . live in peace with one another . . . admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone . . . See that no one repays another with evil for evil . . . always seek after that which is good . . . Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks . . . Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. . . examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” (1Thessalonians 5:13-22 NASB)

Do you hear it? Do you say it? You can be an exhorter, a comforter, and a voice of reassurance for those around you. Just like the trustworthy aircrew members, if we listen and obey, the Holy Spirit will tell us to “brace for impact.” Are you ready?

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. —1Thessalonians 5:23 NASB

Questions to Share:

1. If you had been on board Flight 1549 that day, how would you have handled your fear?

2. If you do not have assurance of your salvation, please go to How to Know God Personally.