THE PROMISE NO ONE WANTS

An excerpt from the book THE PROMISE NO ONE WANTS by Joey Bonifacio

SHAKE & BREAK

Shortly after World War II, the United States Air Force began the intensive development and testing of airplanes that could fly higher, faster, and longer. The objective was to fly at the speed of sound and beyond.

First espoused by Austrian physicist Ernst Mach, the speed of sound was said to be at 660-760 miles per hour, depending on the airplane’s altitude. The physicists designated this number as Mach 1. Such advances meant entering into the future of air travel and possibly space exploration.

Tests to break through the sound barrier were conducted at the Muroc Army Airfield (present day Edward’s Air Force Base). Many of the experts at the time believed that the sound barrier was impenetrable. No one had flown past Mach 1 before. Many believed it was impossible.

Violent Shaking

Initial test flights proved to be challenging. They found that between Mach .90 to Mach .99 a violent shaking would occur on the fuselage of the plane. So violent were the shaking and turbulence that these could overwhelm the test pilots. Pilots would be disinclined to breakthrough the barrier because of the potential danger. The shaking could cause disorientation and the loss of one’s sense of direction.

A Man Named Chuck

It was a sunny California morning on October 14, 1947 when historians recorded the flight that had broken through the sound barrier. A young test pilot ushered in the first flight to travel at Mach 1 speed. His name was Chuck Yaeger.

Like everyone else, he experienced the same violent shaking, the same disorientation, dizziness, and loss of direction. The only difference was that, in the midst of the shaking and turbulence, he stayed the course for a few seconds longer.

The breakthrough flight could not have been more dramatic. The ground crew monitoring the flight watched the speed gauges as Yaeger inched through Mach .97, .98, .99, and then came an explosive kaboom! Startled, the crew thought that Yaeger’s plane had exploded and that he had failed just like everyone else.

It was the first time a plane would create a sonic boom.

As a plane flies through the atmosphere, airwaves build up on its fuselage, causing the violent shaking. The sonic boom is the sound generated by the peak accumulation and release of that pressure as the plane breaks through the barrier.

Chuck made history that day. Air travel would never be the same again.

His triumph teaches us a parallel spiritual truth: With the greatest breakthroughs come the most violent shaking and turbulence. Disorientation, dizziness, loss of direction, and even fear and discouragement can occur just before a breakthrough.

Chuck discovered that past Mach 1, planes tend to fly higher, faster, and are more stable. This gives us yet another important spiritual parallel: Breakthroughs mean deeper levels in the Spirit, which means a faster ability to respond to the things of God, resulting in greater stability in life.

Chuck also proved that to break through, one has to stay the course regardless of the situation. This is similar to the spiritual truth we find in Hebrews 10:36:

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

The old adage is true: when the going gets tough, the tough get going. To avoid the shaking and the breaking is to postpone your breakthrough.