Being 2 degrees off course can make a huge difference years down the road. This story gives a great example of why it’s important to stay on the right course.
The story goes like this:
I heard a guy tell a story that he was on a plane flight that got delayed. He said that he was trying to finish some work on his laptop until the battery died. The man next to him was doing the same. Then with nothing better to do, they started talking.
The man told him that he was a flight engineer for NASA. After that the other guy started asking a lot of questions, and asked him if he was on the team of Apollo 13. The man told him that he was.
He asked if the astronauts actually said “Houston, we have a problem.” The man told him that was correct.
He told him that the real scenario was just as dramatic as the movie portrayed it, and in many ways more so because of the real human lives at stake.
The guy told him that the astronauts only had enough fuel left for one blast-off that would get them into orbit. After that their fuel would run out and they would not be able to steer the space craft at all.
Houston’s calculations had to be exact because of this. He said that they had to really make sure that everything would work perfectly as much as they possibly could.
The guy asked the flight engineer why it was so important that everything should be exact. He said “Why couldn’t it just be off 1 or 2 degrees, because it doesn’t seem like that would make much of a difference?”
The flight engineer was totally taken aback at this and pulled out his calculator. He showed him all the calculations, and showed him that if they had been 2 degrees off course with their calculations, the astronauts would have missed the earth by more than 11,000 miles.
The flight engineer told him that being 2 degrees off course can make a huge difference over a lot of miles.
Christians are bombarded daily with all kinds of things that keep us way too busy. They ultimately keep us from doing the things that God desires.
How many times have we gotten off the path just a small amount, and it was some time later before we realized it?
Then we had to make a hard choice that is necessary to get back on track. I am not talking about doing something terrible, just not praying for the right direction from God.
I have wasted a lot of time doing things that I didn’t pray about first. I just did them because I thought they were good.
It’s easy to get caught up in doing good things. Satan wants you to spend your life doing things that don’t really matter where eternity is concerned.
Many people think that if they let God lead them, their life will be either ruined, or boring and mundane. BUT… God starts working in your life wherever you will allow. He gradually changes your thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Then when you look back on your life after a year or so, you can see how you have changed for the better.
God always has your best in mind, where we humans don’t really know what is best because we can’t see the future.
God has a plan for your life, and He wants to steer you in the right direction. The Holy Spirit desires to lead you so that you don’t get off even one degree, and certainly not two degrees.
When I follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, I am always amazed at how things work out. I don’t get frustrated because I know that I am doing what God desires. The Holy Spirit then has the freedom to guide me to do the things God desires.
Imagine what an impact each Christian could make on a lost world if we each relied totally on God to lead us each day.
We would always be doing the right thing – at the right time – in the right place. God would be able to use us at work, home, play, church, wherever we are at the time.
Determine right now in your heart that this is the way you want to live each day in the future. Being 2 degrees off can lead you in the wrong direction. Make sure you stay on course for the long haul.
