Good Morning Sunshine! You Called It Crash Landing, But God Calls It, I’m Still Holding You!

Psalm 37:23–24 (KJV) ~ “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand.”

Psalm 37:23–24 is a foundational promise for believers who find themselves stumbling or facing unexpected detours. The Hebrew word for “ordered” means established, fixed, or made secure. In other words, the path of the righteous is not random but divinely structured by God. Even when you fall, or in our analogy, crash, it is not final. God’s hand becomes the safety net that sustains you. The word “upholdeth” means to grasp firmly, to support so one doesn’t collapse. This scripture reassures us that crashes may come, but they don’t cancel God’s control.

Have you ever experienced a flight that didn’t end as planned? Imagine boarding a plane with excitement and expectation. You’ve packed your bags, checked your ticket, and trusted the pilot to get you to your destination. The takeoff is smooth, the sky clear, and everything feels safe. But suddenly, turbulence strikes. The plane shakes, the oxygen masks drop, and panic sets in. Instead of a smooth landing at your expected airport, the plane is forced into an emergency crash landing. Though terrifying, when the wheels hit the ground and the cabin door opens, the passengers step out alive. The landing wasn’t what they expected, but survival became the testimony.

Sometimes life feels like that flight, an emergency landing. Things began well, you took off with hope, you were strapped in with great expectation, believing your prayers, preparation, and obedience would guarantee a smooth ride. But turbulence arrives without warning, unexpected storms shook your faith, a phone call changes everything, a job is lost, a diagnosis comes, or a relationship fractures. Suddenly, what was supposed to be a smooth landing turns into a crash. Yet, just like those passengers walking away alive, God ensures that even in life’s crash landings, you will still stand alive on the other side.

Crash landings often bring fear because they’re out of your control. You love predictable arrivals, smooth schedules, and well-planned paths. But God sometimes allows a crash landing to prove that survival doesn’t depend on the vehicle but on His Hand. Like Paul in Acts 27, the ship broke apart in the storm, but not one life was lost because God had already declared preservation. Sometimes, the very thing you thought would carry you breaks, yet God carries you through. Think of it this way, the airplane wasn’t designed to crash, it was designed to fly. But even in a crash, its structure absorbs some of the impact to preserve life. Likewise, you are designed for purpose, but when life crashes, God Himself absorbs the full impact through His grace. He sustains you so that what should have destroyed you only develops you into His design.

Crash landings also teach humility. They strip away the illusion that you are in control. Just as passengers must trust the pilot during turbulence, you must trust God to guide you through rough seasons. Proverbs 16:9 reminds us: “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” Even when the route changes, the Pilot never loses control. The truth is, some of you wouldn’t pray as fervently, worship as deeply, or cling to God as tightly without the turbulence and crashes. Crashes remind you of your dependence. David said in Psalm 34:18, “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Sometimes, the crash creates the closeness! The enemy wants you to believe a crash landing is the end of your story. But God declares it is only the beginning of a new chapter. The broken pieces of the wreckage become the building blocks of testimony. The scarred place becomes the stage for His Glory!

Hope lives in the fact that no crash catches God off guard. He already saw the turbulence. He already knew where you would land. He has already positioned people and provision to meet you when you arrive. The widow in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:9) was already prepared before Elijah’s brook dried up. In the same way, God already has your provision waiting after the crash. Like training wheels on a bike, crash landings remind you that falls are part of the process of learning balance. They hurt, yes, but they teach. The scars on your knees prove not only that you fell, but that you got back up. You may land hard, but you won’t land without hope.

The Bible says in Micah 7:8, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise.” That’s the hope of the believer. Crash landings are not the conclusion, they’re a transition. They redirect you into places of destiny that you wouldn’t have chosen otherwise on your own. Remember this, God is still the Pilot. He hasn’t left the cockpit of your life. Every bump, every storm, every unexpected descent is still under His Sovereign control. Nothing catches Him off guard. If you’ve crash-landed recently, be encouraged: you may be shaken, but you are still standing. And if you’re still standing, then your calling is still alive.

Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You that even when life crashes, Your hand upholds me. Thank You for reminding me through Your Word that my steps are ordered, and even when I stumble, I will not be cast down, because You are faithful. Lord, I confess that sometimes the turbulence makes me fearful. I panic, I doubt, I question. But today, I surrender the pilot’s seat to You. I acknowledge that You are in control, even when the path feels uncertain. Help me to see the purpose in the crash landings. Open my eyes to the lessons, the growth, and the redirection You are providing. Remind me that brokenness does not mean abandonment, it means preparation. Father, forgive me for the times I confused delay with denial or turbulence with failure. Strengthen my faith so that I cling to You when the ground shakes and my plans collapse. Father, Thank You for being the God who absorbs the impact. Thank You that what should have killed me only built me. Thank You that Your grace has sustained me through wreckage I thought I’d never survive. Father, remind me daily that nothing about me catches You off guard. My life is in Your hands, and there is no safer place to be. I declare that my crash landing is not my conclusion, it is my new beginning. Father, I stand in hope today, knowing that You restore, You redeem, and You realign. I will rise again because You have destined me to live and not die, to declare the works of the Lord. In Jesus Christ Name, Amen.

Nugget: A crash may shake you, but it cannot stop you, because the Pilot of your life has never lost control.

Blessings…

Love, Dr. Jean