There have been times in my life that made me stop and pay attention, because I knew what I was glimpsing was worth trying to understand. Watching gigantic hot air balloons take flight was one of those moments for me. What began as a simple curiosity about these giants in the sky became something far more: a window into understanding something God was showing me.

I have long been a distant admirer of those monstrous hot air balloons. I have watched videos of them and marveled at how they flew elegantly across the sky. Recently, I was able to witness hundreds of these colorful monstrosities up close. They were crowded onto one huge field that barely held all of them.

As they began to fill with hot air and prepare for takeoff, they would crowd next to each other, appearing to be fighting for overhead space, each one pushing up through the others already inflated. It was while watching them lumber and lurch to leave the ground, transitioning into a smooth and eerily quiet flight that God opened a window into one of His principles that I know I must learn to understand.

You see, God was in control, giving them small windows of opportunity to affect certain aspects of the flight. The pilots had a very small job: controlling the amount of heated air going into the balloon that affected the height at which they flew while the wind carried them to destinations unknown at takeoff. For the most part, they were just along for the ride.

Before leaving, the pilots checked surface wind speeds and monitored the speeds and activity at various levels in the sky above before they determined if it was safe to fly.  Flight had to begin immediately after daylight.  While landing had to occur within a couple hours after that; otherwise, the wind became less consistent and more unstable, with less certainty of a safe flight. Once airborne, they controlled a small part of the flight.  While the wind speed, direction, and consistency controlled the journey. The balloonists knew their role, and they spent no time trying to circumvent the process.

In those balloons, I see a correlation to our relationship with God. We must submit to His authority releasing any good ideas we have about what direction our journey takes.  He sets the principles, the boundaries and the direction of our lives. His design is to give us freedom inside those boundaries for a purposeful life. The chaos we create comes from believing we have any control, and rebelling against what our Creator designed for our protection.

Submitting to His authority starts with admitting that He has the right to be in authority, and I do not. It is about recognizing His omnipotence and yielding to it instead of fighting Him for control.

Jeremiah 32:17, “Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm: Nothing is too hard for you.”

None of the pilots I saw thought they could determine where they went. They did not fight what was obvious; they worked with it. Working with God and not fighting Him for control results in a similar peaceful flight.

Just as balloon pilots begin their day resolved to submit to the wind, we must begin ours resolved to submit to God. More than a rote ritual prayer is a bending of the knee before the Supreme Authority in an opportunity to align my spirit to His and not rebel against where He takes me. As they are given a safe environment to function within once they submit to the wind, God gives us order, and safety, and purpose within His boundaries.

He gave us His Word to show us the principles we must follow to be allowed to operate under His authority. When we live by His principles and submit to Him continually, we can rest in the assurance that everything that unfolds is His will and is working for our good – a flight as smooth and breathtaking as a balloon flight at dawn.

I do not have a full understanding of this submission idea. It is very difficult for me to die to self and fully grasp God’s omnipotence. Feisty independence has been my calling card. In the wake of that mindset, I have hurt my girls, wrecked a marriage, and left countless numbers of people hurt along the way. Letting go of that rebellion is terrifying even though I can see with my mind that God is the Supreme Authority who has set a much better path before me.

When I read Colossians 1:16-17, I cannot fully comprehend the depth and breadth of who God is, but it says “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.” I know this is true.  And I am trying to know it in the depths of my heart into my spirit, because I know it will change me. The only way I know to get there is to read and memorize scripture and spend more and more time with Him instead of the world. Seeing those balloons gave me a small insight into Him.

I hope it helps you also.

– Gigi

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