Hold On!

by Rev. Thomas R. Fuller

“Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name.” -Psalm 91:14

This is a true story reported in the September 3rd, 1987 edition of The Boston Globe. On a commuter flight from Portland, Maine to Boston, the pilot, a man named Henry Dempsey, heard a strange rattling noise coming from the back of the plane. He turned the controls over to his co-pilot, and made his way through the plane to the rear for an investigation. As he entered the tail section, the plane was rocked by an air pocket, and he was thrown against the rear door, which had been the source of the strange noise because it hadn’t been latched properly. As Dempsey’s body collided with the door, it popped open and he was sucked out.

The co-pilot immediately noticed the open door light and soon became aware that Dempsey was no longer in the plane. He radioed for an emergency landing at the nearest airport, along with his coordinates and a plea for rescue aircraft to search the area of ocean over which they had been flying when the door came open.

Upon landing, the emergency crew dispatched to greet the plane on the runway made an amazing discovery. Somehow, as Dempsey was being sucked out of the open door, he had managed to grab on to the door ladder as he fell, and for ten full minutes, as the plane traveled at over 200 miles an hour at an altitude of four thousand feet, he held on for dear life.
Dempsey narrowly avoided a major head-but with the runway when the plane touched down. He was in fact alive and well. Dempsey was holding on to the aircraft with such force that it took several minutes for the rescue team to pry his fingers from the ladder.

Wow! There are times to let go, and there are times to hold on. Thankfully, this pilot was able to hold on when he needed to, and for that reason he lived to fly another day. I can only imagine his resolve in that moment. His determination not to let go was stronger than the fear and the wind and four thousand feet.

We should understand our connection to the Lord in those very same terms. It’s not always immediately clear to us just how dangerous letting go of the Lord really is. But he is our life. He is our deliverance and our protection. To let go means to take the big plunge. When we cleave to him in love, it means life, and even more. The psalmist goes on to use the words answer, be present, rescue, honor, satisfy and save (Psalm 91:14-16). So, hold on, tight! -Tom