If we jump out of an airplane, with or without a chute, gravity pulls us down, without a chute fast, with a chute slower, but down is where we are headed. In the same way our flesh pulls us down. Down is away from God, doing our own thing, selfish, prideful, and angry. The Bible talks a lot about our natural self and how it is the seat of all our sins and problems. To go up, closer to God, loving others, selfless, full of joy and peace requires that we have some energy to push us forward and upward like a jet engine on a plane. That energy to fly comes from God, but He doesn’t give it randomly, He gives His power to those who want it, who seek for it diligently, who know that without it they are going to sink like a rock.

Isaiah 40:31
Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

To wait upon the Lord is to pray, to read His word, the Bible, to memorize it and meditate on it, to gather with other believers regularly, to worship God, thanking Him constantly for everything.

What happens is that we get busy and miss a day on our Bible reading and because it didn’t seem to cause any bad things to happen, no new golphers in our yard we miss again in a week or so and then again, each time we miss it gets a little easier to do. All of our spiritual disciplines rise and fall on our Bible reading.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new year and it is a good time for new goals. Make some 2023 goals, if even just a couple, and get back to flying.