There's always tomorrow - Well, not really

Proverbs 27:1 (NLT)
27 Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring.

There are two thoughts presented with this verse.  1) We are not to count the comforts and continuance of life for they can be taken away at any moment. Therefore we cannot presume we have another day of life even if it seems hopeful we do. 2) We should not put off the things we must do.  For if today God calls out to us then we must respond as God requires. Our dependence is to be upon God and we must submit to His good will about the uncertainty of life.

 

On 20th December 1995, American Airlines flight 965, a Boeing 757, was flying from Miami, Florida to Cali, Colombia. Radar was unable to be used by Air Traffic Control in Cali, because of attacks by leftist guerillas in 1992 left the radar inoperative. Radio navigation aids and the airports instrument approach system were used instead.  A problem began when air traffic control gave the pilots the option of taking a shorter route.

The pilots accepted the change in flight path and upon this decision the pilots cleared the waypoints from their navigation computer. The pilots then used their maps to identify the next waypoint and program it into the navigation computer. The next waypoint was Rozo, which was identified as ‘R’ on their charts. The pilots programmed this into the navigation computer by entering ‘R’. However, there were duplicates locations for ‘R’ stored in the navigation computer and the larger location Romeo was listed first. Not realizing the error in their selection the pilots had programmed the plane for a path to Bogata, Columbia -- a totally different direction from their flight path.

With the aircraft flying on the autopilot, this selection caused the aircraft to turn sharply and head towards Bogata and most importantly an almost 2 mile high mountain. The Ground Proximity Warning System activated approximately twelve seconds before the crash. The captain and first officer reacted swiftly, but were unable to clear the mountain.

People were returning home for the Christmas Holidays. There were 163 people on-board the aircraft and only four passengers survived. The crash was the first U.S.-owned 757 accident and the highest death toll of any accident in Colombia. It all happened due to a mistake that occurred in less than 12 seconds. These people could not brag about tomorrow for it never came.

 

Use every moment you have to live out your life for God. Live your life with purpose, happiness and enjoyment so that no second may be wasted. Follow the will of God and accept God‘s plan of salvation, for it cannot be accepted after death. Listen for God’s call and do today what you may not be able to do tomorrow.