Larry Walters had a boyhood dream to fly. But fates conspired to keep him from his dream. He joined the Air Force, but his poor eyesight disqualified him from the job of pilot. After he was discharged from the military, he sat in his backyard watching jets fly overhead. One day Larry devised a plan while sitting outside in his “extremely comfortable” Sears lawnchair. He purchased 45 weather balloons from an Army-Navy surplus store, tied them to his tethered lawnchair (dubbed the Inspiration I) and filled the four-foot diameter balloons with helium. Then, armed with some sandwiches, Miller Lite, and a pellet gun, he strapped himself into his lawnchair. He figured he would just shoot a few of the balloons when it was time to descend.

Larry planned to sever the anchor and lazily float to a height of about 30 feet above the backyard, where he would enjoy a few hours of flight before coming back down. But things didn’t work out quite as Larry planned. When his friends cut the cord anchoring the lawnchair to his Jeep, he did not float lazily up to 30 feet. Instead he streaked into the LA sky as if shot from a cannon, pulled by the lift of 45 helium balloons, holding 33 cubic feet of helium each.

He didn’t level off at 100 feet, nor did he level off at 1000 feet. After climbing and climbing, he leveled off at 16,000 feet. At that height he felt he couldn’t risk shooting any of the balloons, lest he unbalance the load and really find himself in trouble. So he stayed there, drifting cold and frightened with his beer and sandwiches, for more than 14 hours…as he considered his options. He crossed the primary approach corridor of LAX, where startled Trans World Airlines and Delta Airlines pilots radioed in reports of a strange sight. Eventually he gathered the nerve to shoot a few balloons, and slowly descended. The hanging tethers tangled and caught in a power line, blacking out a Long Beach neighborhood for 20 minutes. Larry climbed to safety, where he was arrested by waiting members of the LAPD.

As he was led away in handcuffs, a reporter dispatched to cover the daring rescue asked him why he had done it. Larry replied nonchalantly, “A man can’t just sit around.”

Just like Larry wanted to soar we were created to soar. Each one of us were created by God Almighty to live life to the fullest. We were created by a limitless God, therefore we will always have a desire to be, do, and have more. We only get content to settle when we have stopped growing in our calling from God. Jesus came to show us the heart of God and in John 10:10 He said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Jesus came to give us life, but not just life, life to the fullest. Notice Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” Did you notice the comma in between those phrases? The question is…what side of the comma do you live on? Do you live on the left side which is simply “life?” Or do you live on the right side (literally) which is “life to the full?” You will either dwell on one side of the comma. You can’t live on both sides. Some people are simply existing in life, just floating about their day with no real sense of purpose and meaning. Others are living life with intentionality embracing their mission. Which one are you?

Here are a few thoughts to soar into a full life…

1. Tune Into God

You will never fully know God’s plans for your life if you are not spending time in His word. Getting into His word tunes our life to His frequency. It aligns us with His plans for our life. It is impossible to know God without knowing His word. If you want to live life to the fullest you MUST not just get into His word, you MUST let the word get into you!

2. Think The Way God Thinks

The Bible clearly shows us how to think…

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

Think positive, uplifting, encouraging thoughts. Don’t allow your mind to go septic. When your thoughts go septic your life goes into the sewers of depression and fear. The way you think will determine the life you live. Living life to the fullest means we MUST think Godly thoughts that are filled with faith.

3. Turn The Other Cheek

Jesus encouraged us to turn the other cheek when we are hurt. This principle to follow is one of forgiveness. When you forgive others it sets you free from anything they could have said to you or have done to you. There is nothing worse that to live with unforgiveness. It haunts us and stews within us causing terrible things to happen. To live life to the fullest we MUST be able to forgive those around us and walk in freedom.