Plan For It

Therefore put on the full armor of God,

so that when the day of evil comes,

you may be able to stand your ground,

and after you have done everything, to stand.

(Ephesians 6:13)

Once, while traveling, I experienced a vivid illustration of how crucial it is to have predetermined procedures. I had taken my seat on a flight to a speaking engagement. Everything seemed to be quite normal during the rest of the boarding process, but as the plane was about to taxi, things got very abnormal. A woman just a few rows behind me started screaming obscenities. And when I say screaming, I don’t mean talking too loudly. I mean full-out vocal extremes.

She was completely undone because she found a piece of chewed gum stuck to her bag of chips. Where the gum came from was a mystery, but how she felt about that gum was not. What came out of her mouth was so R-rated it made my already wide eyes pop out like a bug on steroids.

She was so loud and out of control that the flight attendants quickly alerted the captain to abort the flight. When it became obvious the flight attendants were not going to be able to contain the situation, two plainly dressed men on the plane suddenly stood and flashed federal marshal badges.

One of the marshals gathered the flight crew while the other went to talk to the woman. Every airline professional on board immediately went into by-the-book mode. It was clear they had been well trained on how to handle crazy situations. They didn’t get emotional or come unglued in any way. They simply followed procedures. I watched in amazement as the woman kept escalating her wild behavior, but the people trained to handle her never did.

She screamed.

They talked in calm, hushed tones.

She threatened.

They deflected her threats with gentle warnings.

Then she took things to a whole new level: “I have a bomb! I have a bomb! I have a bomb!”

I am not kidding.

I know you think I am. But I am not.

That’s when I pulled out the anointing oil my pastor had given to me the day before. My seat became oily and holy. I called Art and my friend Amy and asked them to pray. And I tweeted, asking my cyber friends to pray.

Eventually, the marshals —along with two policemen and additional Homeland Security people who’d boarded the plane —handcuffed her and removed her from the flight. Throughout the whole hair-raising debacle, I never once heard the people following procedures yell or come unglued even one tiny bit. And I was absolutely amazed.

I will be honest with you: This woman took unglued to a level I hope I never experience again. But I also never want to forget the incredible responses of the flight attendants and officers who dealt with this explosive situation. Not only did their obviously thorough training and procedures keep them calm, they kept an entire planeload of passengers calm as well. And that was an amazing thing to behold.

So, I started thinking that maybe I needed a set of default procedures for when selfishness, pride, impatience, anger, and bitterness rear their ugly heads. Because in the moment I feel them, I feel justified in feeling them and find them hard to battle.

We’ll explore my predetermined plan in the next five devotions, but for today, remember it’s God’s promises — His truths and examples from Scripture — that are powerful enough to redirect us to the divine nature we’re meant to have. How do you want to display God’s divine nature working in you the next time you feel a little unglued? I want to be calm, levelheaded, and show evidence of loving Jesus. What about you?