On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr was killed along with his wife Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette when his Piper Saratoga crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts on their way to his cousin's wedding.
The official investigation by the NTSB determined that Kennedy fell victim to spatial disorientation while descending over the water at night. "spatial what"?! When you are flying an airplane in poor weather or with bad visibility on the horizon, you can experience spatial disorientation. It is an improper perception of the attitude of the aircraft. If a pilot experiences spatial disorientation, he may think he's going up when he is in reality going down. According to experienced pilots, when you are spatially disoriented, you must trust your instruments and not your perceptions or feelings. Kennedy, although a good pilot, had not yet received his instrument rating. With the haze and lack of visibility of the horizon, he only had his feelings to rely on. The consequence was a nose dive into the Atlantic, killing all three people on board.
"...when you are spatially disoriented, you must trust your instruments and not your perceptions or feelings."
We sometimes experience a spiritual version of spatial disorientation. Spiritual, spatial disorientation is when we feel confused and our feelings and perceptions run contrary to God's Word.
Have you ever been in a life storm and didn't know which way was up? Are you in one now? This can happen when we encounter circumstantial storms, relational haze, or if we lose sight of God's horizon. At that moment of spacial confusion, we can become easily disoriented and are tempted to "lean on our own understanding" rather than "trust in the Lord with all of our heart."
"Spiritual, spacial disorientation is when we feel confused and our feelings and perceptions run contrary to God's Word."
Similar to a pilot, the key to getting out of the grips of a fatal mindset of spatial disorientation, is to trust the Instruments. We must allow the Scriptures to guide us instead of our feelings and perceptions. It is leaning completely on the Bible even when our feelings sound a deafening alarm. Do we know what it means to talk Scripturally to ourselves rather than listening to ourselves?
When Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd Jones, that great Welsh preacher, was speaking about what he referred to as "spiritual depression," he asked this searching question:
"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?"
Psalm 42: 5-6
"Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God."
So, the next time you are spiritually, and spatially disoriented, talk Truth to yourself. Say something like, "Heart, I know you are confused, frightened, and doubting right now. But you must trust in the goodness, kindness, and sovereignty of God. He is for you!"
Trust your Instruments!
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