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A prescription for peace

Does flying on an airplane worry you? In the wake of the Christmas would-be bomber, today's news won't help.

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 39 left Portland yesterday at 10:10 AM with 231 passengers. This morning's CNN website tells us that 90 minutes later, the captain turned the plane around. An hour later, two F-15 fighter jets arrived to escort the jet back to the airport. A 56-year-old man was then taken from the plane, along with his female companion. The captain described the man as a "suspicious passenger who made threatening remarks and refused to store his carry-on bag."

FBI agents interviewed the two, then released them and referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's office. Officers searched the plane, then allowed it to depart again for Hawaii. Since the man has not yet been charged, his identity has not been released.

Wednesday was a bad day for flying. A Northwest Airlines flight was ready to leave Miami International Airport for Detroit when a passenger "was heard making inappropriate remarks and acting disruptively," the airport said. The plane was returned to the gate, where all passengers were removed. The person in question and three companions were questioned by Miami police before the aircraft was searched and cleared for its flight.

Things aren't much safer on the ground. It's 25 degrees in Dallas right now, with a wind chill factor of 11 and black ice on the overpasses. Our low tonight will be 15 degrees with a high tomorrow of 27. In a city which shuts down at the first thought of ice, we're not happy down here.

No place is really safe any more. WebMD says that seven million people incur disabling injuries at home each year; 20,000 people die and 20 million go to the hospital from home-related incidents. You may have heard about the fellow who heard that 52% of all car crashes occur within five miles of home (that's true), so he moved.

Joseph Heller's Catch 22 made famous the warning, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you." There's your devotional thought for the day. What do we do with the fears and anxieties which are part of everyday life in this post-9-11 "war on terror" world?

Writing from a Roman prison cell, on trial for his life, Paul could encourage us, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). In other words, pray first. Worry about nothing-pray about everything. Why? Because "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (v. 7).

If your heart is not at peace this morning, pray until it is. E. M. Bounds said that "God shapes the world by prayer." He shapes our souls the same way. Ora et labora-pray and work-is not just a motto. It's a prescription for peace.