Charles Lindbergh just before leaving San Diego to fly to St. Louis, Missouri, in his monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, 1927. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (cph 3a15428)
It was after 10pm on May 21, 1927, and a few miles outside of Paris. A traffic jam stopped the world as 150,000 people waited for an engine buzzing in the sky. Than the Spirit of St. Louis dropped into sight as Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo transatlantic flight. Eleven years later, Douglas Corrigan flew a similar mission from New York to Ireland. But, there is a vast difference between Corrigan and Lindbergh, and it centers on planning.
He Got Lucky
Lindbergh worked with designers to build the Spirit of St. Louis for the transatlantic flight. He filed all the correct documents. He had navigation equipment and maps to help guide his aircraft to its destination. Corrigan, on the other hand, flew a garage modified plane dubbed the Spirit of $69.90. Corrigan’s flight plan from New York to Ireland was rejected, so he filed a new flight plan to fly from New York to California. Then he left and flew east instead of west and landed in Ireland. After the flight, people called him “Wrong Way” Corrigan. As one newspaper described it, “he flew by the seat of his pants!” Lindbergh planned for a successful trip and took steps to ensure its completion. Corrigan planned to take a trip and got lucky.
By the Seat of Your Pants
Many people live like Corrigan, flying by the seat of their pants. They live reactive lives by dealing with problems and issues as they come up with no forethought about how to accomplish their purposes. They run out of money. Their cars break down. They make poor decisions. They backtrack, redirect, start over, and pay double. It is the accidental life, not the successful life.
Plans and Purpose
God leads a successful life filled with plans and purpose. He is intentional with every word, command, and decision. Jeremiah revealed God’s intentional life, “Therefore hear the plan that the Lord has made against Babylon, and the purposes that he has formed against the land of the Chaldeans” (Jer. 50:45).
Luck Has No Place
Christianity is also an intentional life, where luck has no place. But some Christians plan a trip to heaven and take no thought of how to get there. They fly by the seat of their pants, reacting to temptations, problems, and struggles without preparation. They hope to get lucky and stumble into heaven, but heaven’s gates don’t open for luck. They open for intention. Godliness demands planning and purpose—intentionality.
Preaching Minister