"THE BALLOONIST"

Topics: Trust

After two failed attempts at landing, a balloonist panicked. Frantically,
he searched for a third spot to attempt a touchdown, but all he could see
for miles was thick woods. He had only half of one tank of fuel left.
Nevertheless, he felt his only option was to hit the burners and try to
find a clearing. Nearly paralyzed with fear, he cried out to God, "Help
me. Take control of this situation. Lord, find me a safe place to land!"
With that prayer, a feeling of calm came over him. His fingers unclenched
and he felt a wave of peace.

Even so, the landscape below sped by and he had no idea where his ground
crew might be. Then he spotted a small clearing directly ahead - and in
it, two of the biggest bulls he had ever seen. "Lord, I trusted You to
find me a safe place to land, and I trust You completely with those
bulls!" He held on tightly as the basket hit the ground roughly, tipped
over, and was dragged along the ground for about fifty yards.

To his amazement, the bulls seemed oblivious to all the commotion. Almost
instantly, his ground crew came racing toward him. One of them said, "You
got caught in some nasty wind shear. It's a miracle you kept control." The
balloonist knew the true miracle. The true miracle was that he had given
up control.

God may not always answer our prayers the way we think they ought to be
answered. When we give up all control, and simply trust Him, He will
handle any obstacle that gets in our way.

- As excerpted from "God's Little Book on Prayer" (Page 91)
(Used with permission by Honor Books)