Nerd alert: I have been waiting two-hundred and eighteen days for the perfect moment to use this illustration in a blog.

On November 18, 2023, SpaceX launched the second test flight of their jaw-dropping-mind-bending-sun-eclipsing-mega-huge-spin-the-earth-backwards Starship rocket. (You can thank my wife for sparing the world of the times I’ve wanted to write about this technological behemoth or the team behind it.) Shortly after launch, the super heavy rocket booster exploded and the SpaceX broadcaster narrating the historic event casually said what instantly became one of the most significant phrases of my life. I could never recreate the moment with mere words so watch and listen for yourself. Listen closely at the 1:20 mark.

Did you catch it?

“As you could see, the Super Heavy Booster has just experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly; however, our ship is still underway.”

Aerospace engineers use the term “rapid unscheduled disassembly” (RUD) to describe the unplanned, unexpected, catastrophic explosion or breakup of a rocket or vehicle.

Stop for a moment and consider the scope of expertise and level of planning it takes to execute launching a rocket. It is unimaginable for the average person. Our family of five can barely make it out the door and travel to Publix in our 2017 Pacifica yet a small group of super-smart humans has been assembled together to strap thirty-three Raptor engines to an almost 400-ft rocket and design the software to make it follow a flight plan. Yet, for all the many plans of man (Pr. 16:9), there is always the potential for a rapid unscheduled disassembly.

How could something so non-human be so relatable to the human experience? I’ve watched this video at least fifty times and still get chills drawing a parallel to various moments in my life. I would guess you’ve had a few rapid unscheduled disassemblies in your life, huh?

How many times have your perfect plans for the day been disintegrated by a bad morning with a spouse? Bad traffic? Finding out you’re being sued? Explode.

How about when you’re forty, a Christian, blessed with amazing family and friends, a career path Tim Cook would be jealous of, and seemingly out of nowhere you’re dealing with a depression diagnosis? Explode.

How about when you’re driving to work and have a panic attack because you never dealt with the compounded trauma of losing a child and being diagnosed with cancer all in the same summer? Explode.

God’s character and His love for you is where this illustration abruptly ends. Where Starship’s booster unexpectedly explodes into a million tiny pieces never to be used again, God is both aware and in control of your life. Further, nothing you will ever experience will ever – hear me: ever – render you useless.

I’d like to encourage you to let this illustration sit with you. Think about what it looks like in your life. The reality of life is that you are always either coming out of a trial, in one, or about to head into one. As you do that, remember the truth of 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NLT):

For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Our rapid unscheduled disassembly might have happened in painful secrecy or it was embarrassingly public. You might have been let go. You might need counseling or even medication. The good news is that God and hope are always available as you go back to the drawing board to find out what happened, why, and what to do next.

In Christ, nothing is lost and your mission is not over! Your ship is still underway!