JATO! Say What?

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10: 24-25, NIV).

31–30. That’s the current tally of wins on Words, the knock-off version of Scrabble that a friend and I play together through iMessage on our phones. One evening just a few nights ago, she and I were engaged in a close battle. Jockeying for the lead, she played the word JATO.Annoyed at the fact she had just played a word worth more than 60 points, and took a significant lead, I immediately sent a text back, “What the heck? JATO? She responded with a message telling me about her strategy, which had been to use her letter J, of shifting vowels and consonants around until she found a word that was considered acceptable. As I let her know how ridiculous I thought the word play was, she assured me it’s actually in the dictionary, unlike some of the others we use. Sure enough, it’s a word. She sent me a screenshot to prove that if you Google search the word JATO, you’ll find it is actually an acronym for jet-assisted takeoff, defined as “an auxiliary power unit providing extra thrust at takeoff1.”

I love how the Lord works. In the midst of friendly competition, He dropped a message into my lap and gave me words to describe what He had put on my heart. As my friend and I laughed and finished the game we were playing (I won that one!), my mind was already churning with words to talk about JATO and howthe Lord has provided in my life. Though it is an aeronautical term, it is one that I believe is so applicable to our lives as followers of Jesus.

Let us pause to consider the truth found in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” As deeply as I believe in the truth that the Lord has amazing plans for each of our lives, I’m equally as confident in the importance of the truth found in Hebrews 10: 24–25: And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. These verses remind me of the value of surrounding myself with brothers and sisters in Christ who will encourage me to press into whatever the Lord is calling me toward.

Over the last couple of years, I have felt the Lord propelling me forward. In a season prior to my current one, God called me to be still and learn to listen for His voice. After a time of training in listening, it feels as though there has been a shift toward a Fatherly call to action. Taking a leap of faith was necessary when He asked me to financially invest in developing my website in order to have a platform from which to share my words. Through intimate time in the Word, the Lord laid it on my heart to begin having recorded conversations about His faithfulness in the lives of His people that I will eventually share with others. He has continually nudged me, until I finally obeyed, to take a small step away from work and decrease my hours in order to open up time in my schedule to pursue my other passions. I have also recently stepped into a role of leading a women’s Bible study group, another action step prompted by the Lord.

Just as an aircraft requires fuel to take off, I realize I must be properly equipped to go where the Lord is leading. And sometimes, as is referenced in Hebrews, we need a little help from our friends to spur us on in the direction of the Lord’s will. If you dive a little deeper into the definition of JATO, you’ll gain a better understanding of why it is such a relative and applicable term for this current time in my life. Wikipedia describes jet-assisted takeoff as being needed when an aircraft is overloaded to the point of needing a little extra push to get into the air2. When the Lord calls us to action, it can sometimes be easy to feel overwhelmed and heavily burdened to the point of keeping us from moving forward. This is where we need people in our lives who are willing to provide the extra thrust we need in order to take off and soar into the amazing future God has planned for our lives.

In our walk with the Lord, it is often just before takeoff that the enemy turns up the heat and tries to do whatever is necessary to keep us on the ground. There are specific people the Lord has placed in my life who give me a boost, provide encouragement, and speak the truth I need to hear in order to keep going and help me achieve liftoff. The friend I referenced earlier is one such person in my life. One of the ways we connect is by playing word games. If it seems ridiculous that we’ve played 61 games or that we are still keeping score of who has how many wins even though there’s clearly no delineated end in sight, that’s because it is ridiculous. But that’s what I love about our friendship. We share a passion for sports, games, and competition, along with a shared love for Qdoba and Chick-fil-A. Those things, paired with our mutual love of Jesus, is what has allowed our friendship to grow and mature over the course of the last several years. She is one of the people the Lord has utilized to provide spiritual jet-assisted takeoff.

There are many others who have played a vital role in my life, and I am so very thankful for each and every one of them. If there’s something the Lord has placed on your heart and you feel He is calling you to action, be encouraged. Look around, and I am certain you will find yourself surrounded by individuals who want to be your jet-assisted takeoff friends. And if you’re unsure who that might be in your life, begin by praying. I am confident the Lord will point you to people designed specifically for that purpose. Though at times it may feel as if you’re trudging forward, so very far from takeoff, if you trust in the Lord, He will provide the assistance you need to soar to new heights as you pursue the life God has for you.

1. “Jato: Definition of Jato by Oxford Dictionary on Lexico.com Also Meaning of Jato.” Lexico Dictionaries | English. Lexico Dictionaries, 2020. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/jato.

2. “JATO.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, June 8, 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JATO.