Night flight

Night flight. The hum of jet engines wraps around me. Creating space for solitude. Thought.

All else is silent. Lights out. Passengers sleep. A few watch small flickering screens, earphones in place. 

Jetspeed on a clear sky night. Across Central Asia. The map says we’re passing over desert. Mountains. Cities and villages.

I watch out the window. 

A bird’s eye view

Lights flicker and sparkle below. Forming shapes and lines across dark terrain. Defining villages and towns. Contrasting bright in the inky surroundings.

It feels close. Clear. Fascinating.

Beauty shines in this bird’s eye view. I note illuminated patterns. Designs. Incandescent splashes.

Luminous connection

Observing the proximity of other lighted spaces, I look for connection between them. Some luminous ribbons wind through the shadowed landscape to the next city or village.

There’s clarity of shape and form below. Perspective from a distance.

But I’m limited. I can’t see the reality on the ground.

Courage in the dark

We fly over a desert mountain range. Only one brief glimpse of light. The glow is faint.

Silence. In the drone of the plane, I’m wrapped in thought.

I think of the courage light-bearers need in the dark. To stand firm and hold fast in the wilderness wild.  At the ends of the earth.

Far from large populations of light.

Heavenly perspective

Sometimes we hear of these flames burning steady in the night.  We know little of their reality. But we know the One who does.

He sees with heavenly perspective. He knows intimately the situation on the ground. And He stirs hearts to pray. Send. Go.

Those small flames may shine in obscurity between rugged peaks. Hidden in the shadows. For now.

But someday their radiance will be revealed by our God and King. When we see Him face to face.

O glorious Day.

Watching

The engines hum. We fly on. Into the starry night. Watching for the break of day.

“Jesus spoke to them again:
‘I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.'”
John 8:12

What about you?

Who are the courageous light-bearers you know, holding fast in the night? Pray for them now.

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