Green Lights

Have you heard of Bob Goff? He spoke at a conference I attended a few years ago and I was so inspired by the way he loves others, that I bought his book, Love Does.  When I discovered he had just released another book, Everybody Always, Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People, I snatched it up as quickly as I could.

I’m half-way through the book as I write this post and I cannot even begin to tell you how soul-nourishing it has been.

The chapter that I have enjoyed the most thus far is called, “Three Green Lights”. Goff shares that on one occasion after a speaking engagement, he landed his own plane at an airport, soon followed the landing of an F-16, flown by two Top Gun fighter pilots.

Goff struck up a conversation with them and discovered they had just been flying through the nearby valleys in California to sharpen their flying skills, reaction time and even their teamwork. Goff, on the other hand, had purposefully flown over the mountain tops because he wanted to be safe. The pilots “…flew through the valleys because they wanted to get better.”

Being ever mindful of the spiritual analogy, Goff makes a poignant parallel, “What I’ve come to learn so far about my faith is Jesus never asked anyone to play it safe. We were born to be brave. There’s a difference between playing it safe and being safe.”

Like Bob, I would totally be the one flying the plane above the mountain tops instead of through the valleys in an effort to be safe. Unfortunately, that often carries over into my walk with Jesus too. When is the last time I’ve intentionally flown through a valley to sharpen my skills?

Goff goes on to say, “A lot of people think playing it safe and waiting for all the answers before they move forward is the opposite of dangerous. I disagree. If our life and our identity are found in Jesus, I think we can redefine safe as staying close to Him.” I love the idea of redefining “safe,” because we too often define it in terms of excessive cautiousness or our own well being instead of taking a step of faith and remembering we are doing so with Jesus at our side. There is no better place to be than close to Him.

When it comes to relationships and loving people who are difficult to love, we might prefer to take the mountain top route, when in fact God might be asking us to go a little deeper into the valleys. It can feel riskier, but it sure can provide an opportunity for growth and dependence on God, don’t you think?

To further bring the point home, Goff elaborates, “People who are becoming love understand God guides us into uncomfortable places because He knows most of us are too afraid to seek them out ourselves.” I completely relate. I would choose comfort any day. My tendency is to gravitate toward friendly, likeable people. I see a warm smile and I gladly smile right back. I see a grimace or a frown and I look the other way and go about my day.

Thankfully, God is my Pilot (which I talked about a little in my post, Why I like Turbulence) and He guides me where He wants me to go. The challenge for me is to then actually do what He wants me to do…like loving unlovely people.

Another point Goff makes in this chapter is that we don’t always need to have all the answers before we move forward. He tells a story about when he was preparing to land his plane and only got two, instead of three, green lights for the landing gear. Two of the green lights indicated his rear landing gear was down, but the light for the front wheel was not lit up. After flying past the tower twice, they still couldn’t determine if his front wheel was down. Should he try to land the plane even though he didn’t know if he had his front landing gear down?

Goff likens his scary plane situation with situations we face in our own lives. We are expecting something to happen and it doesn’t. We want more clarity and we don’t get it. We wait for more information and it simply doesn’t materialize. We don’t have all the green lights we want. “It’s easy to forget that our faith, life, and experiences are all the green lights we need,” says Goff.

“Don’t ignore the green lights you already have. What delights you? What fires your imagination? What fills you with a deep sense of meaning and purpose? What draws you closer to God? What is going to last in your life and I the lives of others?” What great questions! If you are in a place of contemplating your future, wondering if you should do something you’ve been dreaming about, or just need a change, these questions might be helpful navigational tools.

Goff encourages readers to act quickly, regardless of the number of green lights you have. Opportunities don’t often last long. In his case, the fuel in his plane was not going to last long. He needed to land it, even if he had no landing gear down in the front of the plane.

He didn’t know if the wheels on the plane would work, but he did know God was with him. He brought the plane down slowly, lifting the nose as high as he could. The rear wheels touched first and then he felt a small bounce, telling him the front wheel was down! Phew! It had only been a light bulb issue, not a landing gear issue.

The moral of the story is, “Don’t let a nickel light bulb keep you from fulfilling your purpose. God isn’t surprised we want more confirmation. He just hopes we won’t get stuck waiting for it.”

As I think about my quest to be radiant, I’m asking myself, “is there something I’m waiting to do (that God wants me to do now) because I’m hoping for more green lights?” I’m also asking myself if there are any “valleys” I need to fly through.

Let’s go be radiant this week!