“For God’s sake, open the door!” Captain Patrick Sodenheimer screamed at the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz. But there was no response. Thirteen minutes later the Germanwings Flight 9525 slammed into the French Alps at 400 mph killing all 150 passengers aboard, including Lubitz. We’ve all witnessed the speculation about Lubitz’s state of mind and the revelation that he was being treated for an unspecified illness. A doctor had apparently declared the co-pilot unfit for work and issued a medical leave notice. Lubitz ignored the instructions and ripped them up. The newspaper Die Welt claims access to information that Lubitz suffered from “severe subjective burnout syndrome.” Like me, you may be wondering, “Did demons do it?’
Would depression or anxiety alone drive Lubitz to do this deed? Not likely. Psychiatrists mostly agree that depression might make Lubitz kill himself, but not necessarily take another 149 innocent lives with him. Psychosis? Again, delusions do drive people to kill but generally not the methodical way this mass murder was planned and calmly executed. DID, Dissociative Identity Disorder (multiple personalities)? That’s possible in my opinion. The co-pilot might have suffered from some unknown trauma that induced disconnected states of consciousness, and it was an alter-ego state who flew the plane into the mountains, not the core, sentient mental state of the “real” Lubitz.
Demons? Certainly the deed was demonic. Is there any other way to explain the callous insensitivity to this human tragedy? Demons alone couldn’t have done this. Lubitz must have consented in some way. We’ll never know. “The devil made him do it” isn’t a sufficient explanation. But demons could have influenced an alter-ego to do it, or taken advantage of some de facto consent with evil in the soul of Lubitz. If someone had ministered healing and deliverance to Lubitz this horror could have been averted. As for me, I will continue with all my energy to reach those who, like Lubitz, have believed the lies of Satan and may be on their way to cause great harm of all kinds.
An encouraging word: IT IS GOD
“It is God who arms me with strength,” David said (Psalm 18:32). David goes on in verses 33-36 to explain all that the Lord does on His behalf to provide, protect, and care for him. But it’s the first three words of this expression of confidence that caught my eye: IT IS GOD! I Bookstores are filed with countless volumes of how to look out for #1, to think one’s way to great achievements, or to climb to the top with herculean effort. But the true measure of success is when a Christian can look at all that has been accomplished and say, “It is God.” Of course, we must apply ourselves with diligence, perseverance, and faith, but when the victories have been tallied our final conclusion must be that without the Lord we could do nothing.
Bob Larson has trained healing and deliverance teams all over the world to set the captives free and Do What Jesus Did® (Luke 4:18). You can partner with Bob and support this vision to demonstrate God’s power in action by calling 303-980-1511 or clicking here to donate online.
