Who’s Flying The Plane?

I’m sure at one point you have seen a bumper sticker slapped on the back of someone’s car that says, “God Is My Copilot.” I saw one just the other day, and it made me stop and think: Should God be considered a copilot?

He’s God. Maybe we should say He’s our pilot instead. Copilot doesn’t seem to have the same ring to it as pilot does. Saying God is my copilot kind of seems like saying, “I’m Batman and God is my Robin.”

I decided to delve into this a bit further, and here’s what I found out about copilots and pilots. This really cleared things up for me.

Both the copilot and pilot are fully qualified to fly the plane in all types of flight, but regardless of who is flying, the pilot (or the captain) has ultimate authority and command over the flight.

Did you catch that? The pilot is the one with the ultimate authority. So is the bumper sticker true? Is God just the copilot waiting for you, the pilot to make the decisions?

Let’s see what the Word of God says about this.

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT)

This verse pretty much leaves it all up to YOU. You and I—and all believers—are the ones who have to make the choices. We are the ones with the ultimate authority.

Sure, God built the plane, wrote the manual for it, and supplied you with the fuel, but He made Himself the copilot. He handed the pilot position over to you. You get to decide where your final destination will be by using the authority God has given to you.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

This doesn’t mean you should just take over and try to do everything all by yourself. Take advantage of all of His expertise. Read the Manual that He wrote. Check your communications radio and make sure you can hear Him loud and clear. Take advantage of His amazing navigational skills.

Remember God is fully qualified to fly the plane, but He gave you the authority to decide where it’s going to end up.