Overcoming a Fear of Flying

The fear of flying is a common phobia. I struggled with it for years.

It wasn't helped by Christian urban legends about devout folks who suddenly had a premonition the flight they were sitting on would go down. According to the stories, they then managed to talk their way off the plane, including their luggage, and were amazed when the flight did, in fact, crash.

Those stories always bothered me and provided me with a particularly bad flight from Los Angeles to Oakland once when I became convinced I was on a doomed flight and didn't have the nerve to talk my way off.

Something about not being able to decide what I feared most: dying or making a scene.

As the plane roared over the Pacific Ocean on take-off, I fretted and worried and confessed every sin I could imagine–just in case we went down. After I exhausted my list of sins, I realized those on the plane with me were going to crash, too, and since I had no idea what their salvation situation was, I should pray for them as well.

So I did. All the way to Oakland, where we landed safely and I went on to fly countless more times without incident.

Thanks be to God.

One day as I fretted about an upcoming flight, I remembered the words from Matthew 10:28-32:

"28And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . .  29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Similarly, Psalm 94 talks about God numbering our days, which I've always taken to mean God knows how long my life will be.

If God knows the day I'm going to die does it make any difference how I die?

I considered that concept and realized I could just as easily be killed walking down the street as die in an airplane. Whatever day my life ends will be determined by God. So, why be more afraid of an airplane?

Indeed, statistics say I'm more likely to be killed in an auto accident than an airplane crash.

Frankly, the idea cheered me up considerably and while I still pray on take off, I'm not a wreck anymore about flying.

I can trust the one who created to me to bring me home anyway, and any day, he chooses.

Some church friends had reservations on one of the 9/11/01 Boston to California flights. They got to Boston a day early, however, and decided they were tired of traveling, and caught a flight home on September 10.

My eyes went wide when Al told me the story. "How do you live your life after being spared like that?"

"Very thankful to God," he said.

No surprise. He's not afraid of flying at all.