There’s a concept in aviation called the “1 in 60 rule,” which basically states that for every one degree of being off course, over a 60-mile distance, a plane will miss its destination by one mile.  That is, a little bit of being off course over the long haul equals a significant miss in terms of where the plane was intending to go.  When a plane takes off, it seems simple enough … point yourself to where you’re going and hit it.  Not so much.

You see, while conditions in the air are considered in the plotting of a course … things like the direction of and intensity of wind, among many other things … these factors are anything but consistent during flight.  Wind speeds change, the direction of the winds changes, barometric pressure changes, temperature changes, etc., etc.  This means that pilots (autopilots, these days) need to constantly be making course corrections and changes to adapt and to ensure they remain on course.  Why is it a constant correction process?  Because, as the 1 in 60 rule suggests, if you wait too long to make course corrections, the corrections get too large or become too significant to change without substantially elongating the trip, using too much fuel, and similar other undesirable outcomes.  From being just one degree off!  Hence, it is far better to make small, frequent changes to stay on course.

Life is the same way.  At some level, I think we all want to stay on course.  We seek to have strong character, do the right things, stay away from selfish and poor behaviors, and generally try to fly an uneventful route in our lives.  But small deviations in those routes can lead to really large variations in the quality of our lives and in the circumstances and consequences to which our actions lead.  Beyond that, the environment around us changes unpredictably and frequently.  The forces of wind and weather, figuratively speaking of course, change dramatically and without warning.  We have an enemy that loves when we get settled into a static flight plan and rhythm, because catching us unaware is his best tactic for pushing us off course.

I reckon that most of us, when we have deviance in our life’s flight plan, don’t intend to make huge variations, and perhaps infrequently do we.  Most often, it seems, we make small changes, take small shortcuts, fall victim to small compromises, but in the long-term life’s 1 in 60 rule kicks in and if we don’t make frequent, timely course corrections, before we know it our life has veered way off course.  While we had an initial heading to Hawaii, before we know it, we’re flying over Siberia.

God, above all, knows our propensity to miss the mark.  He knows we’ll get blindsided by the enemy’s wares and that the sin nature that resides in us can sometimes fall victim to the sinful environment around us.  It’s a terrible and violent concoction unless we ensure we are constantly course-correcting.

So much did God know it that He gave us the Bible, His Owner’s manual for our lives, to help us chart out a correct and true course.  In that Owner’s manual, He also shows His love and care for us, by reminding us how to make the minor, frequent, necessary course corrections we need. 

Isaiah 1:18-20

“Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow.
Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.  If you will only obey me, you will have plenty to eat. But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies.  I, the Lord, have spoken!”

1 John 1:8-9

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Ezekiel 18:30-32

“Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you!  Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel?  I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live!

It’s inevitable that a plane gets pushed off course.  It’s inevitable for us in life too.  No matter what we do, no matter how much we try, we will never stay on course.  God desires – and requires – that we stay on course.  Completely on course … not just more on course than the other guy / gal.  And yet He knows we can’t and won’t.  That doesn’t mean He excuses our getting off course.  Just the opposite!  It’s abhorrent to Him.  But He also extended not only a hand of rescue but sent His very Son to take the full penalty of our collective – past, present, and future – course deviations on our behalf.

But the pain and anguish and consequences of our one degree off are immutable.  For those, God gives us the way to correct our course, and reminds us in His word to simply choose those course corrections a little at a time.  He reminds us, in fact He pleads with us … make a quick change … choose holiness … follow Me … live your life My way.  Before the impact gets bigger, more painful, worse.  It’s truly the heart of a Father.

And therein lies the secret for you and me.  Little course corrections regularly.  It’s why the practice of daily Bible reading, daily prayer, daily communion with our Savior is so incredibly important.  Those are our course corrections!  Straight out of the Owner’s manual, conveyed directly by the Owner Himself.  Without those corrections the deviation from our destination can be enormous.  We’ve perhaps seen, or maybe even have been, people who let far too much course deviation build up and before we know it we have no idea where we are or how we’ve gotten there.  The great thing … the Owner’s manual, and the Owner, are never, ever far away.  They are never ineffectual, never irrelevant, never outdated, never overmatched.

The passages above are just a small sampling of the hundreds if not thousands of places our Father not only pleads with us to stay on course, but also offers myriad ways to experience course correction.  Whether we’re one degree off, or so far off that we’re heading in the wrong direction, there is never a time when He won’t allow us to correct all the way back on course.  Most people, it seems, see God as some mean-spirited ogre who is just waiting for us to mess up so He can cast us into hell.  Nothing could be further from the truth or from His character.  In fact, He wanted so much not to live without us that He sent His Son to die for us.

The course corrections are all there in the Owner’s manual.  But here’s the thing … they can’t do us any good if we don’t seek the course corrections or if we don’t put the course corrections into action.  Knowing what the course correction is is not the same thing as actually making the course correction.  I pray if you are one degree off, like many of us are much of the time, you will remember the 1 in 60 rule and apply it to your life.  Go to the Owner’s manual, seek the course correction, and put it into action.  Make the small, frequent changes and avoid getting way off course!

Soli Deo gloria!

MR