Is your nose Up or Down?

John C. Maxwell is a former pastor plus a top global leadership expert, speaker, and bestselling author who has sold millions of books focusing on leadership and personal growth. In his 2014 book, How High Will You Climb?, he shares a fascinating link between Attitude and Altitude.

Your attitude determines your altitude. Aircraft operate at maximum efficiency when flying at a higher altitude. It requires less fuel because the density of air decreases. The greater the altitude, the less molecules there are in the air; therefore there is less drag and resistance on the plane.

There’s more. Not only is there less resistance at the higher altitude, most of the weather phenomenon occurs in the troposphere (which is the atmospheric layer closest to the ground). The average height of the troposphere is 36,000 feet. This is where most storms, heavy rain clouds, turbulence, wind shears, and icy conditions take place. An aircraft flying at a higher altitude will effectively avoid storms, plus unnecessary resistance!

What does this mean for you and me, as believers? When we don’t know what to do and when we’re going through a storm, the best and most efficient plan is to increase our altitude. It’s not the time to get down in the dumps or start singing the next “Woe is me!” song or declaring “Everybody hates me, nobody loves me!”

Instead, it’s time to go up higher. Line your words up with God’s Word for your life. Start believing and proclaiming that you are exactly who He says you are: Blessed, secure, confident, successful, surrounded with favor.

Just like the airplane, you’ll find you will experience the least amount of trouble if you will fly above the turbulence – the hard and difficult situations. Is your nose up or down?

In the book, Maxwell includes several helpful attitude saying’s worth remembering.

1. Our attitude determines our approach to life.

2. Our attitude determines our relationships with people.

3. Our attitude is the only difference between success and failure.

4. Our attitude at the beginning of a task will affect its outcome more than anything else.

5. Our attitude can turn our problems into blessings.

6. Our attitude can give us an uncommonly positive perspective.

7. Our attitude is not automatically good just because we are Christians.

Is your attitude important? Absolutely! In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul challenges his readers then (& us today in 2026) to choose Unity (v2), Humility (v3), and Servanthood (v4). He then gives this instruction: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (v5). How is your attitude today? Is your nose up or down? Are you becoming like Jesus?

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This Sunday, August 16, we will continue our new series “Unshakable Joy!” with “Choose Your Attitude” (Philippians 2:1-11). Please invite someone to join you at the 10:35am worship service in the building or online for the Live broadcast on either Facebook (Honolulu AG) or our YouTube channel (Honolulu Assembly of God). We Livestream every Sunday to both locations and would love to have you join us!

Reminder: Be sure to check out the online midweek Bible Study that is uploaded every Wednesday afternoon to our website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel. Please pass it along to someone who is in need of encouragement. And please join us for Bible Study this Sunday morning at 9:30am. There are two classes for children, one for youth, and one for adults (Gospel of John). Be blessed and grow in your Christian life by studying the Bible together!

Aloha and Aloha ke Akua!