LEARNING TO SOAR LIKE EAGLES

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with

wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint."

(Isaiah 40:31)

My favorite Bible passage is Isaiah 40:28-31, but at this time I want to focus on Isaiah 40:31 and it's mention of "Eagles."

Have you ever wondered why the Eagle is mentioned specifically in this verse?

The eagle is a creation of God and is the most majestic of all birds. Eagles are mentioned many times in the Bible. In fact, the eagle is mentioned 38 times, much more than even doves or other birds. An eagle averages about 35 inches tall and reaches over 78 inches between the wings. The eagle usually builds their nest on a cliff or high tree and the nest is so large that a human could sleep in it. It can weigh upwards of 1500 pounds! God uses the mention of the eagle in Isaiah 40:31, to show us truths about Himself, and what we can accomplish through Him.

Lesson 1: A Baby Eagle Must be motivated to learn to Fly!

A baby eagle is born high in the mountains, and like all other babies, they love to eat and sleep. Baby eagles are known as eaglets, and they spend the early days of their life in the comfort of the nest. Every day, the mama eagle finds food and drops it directly into the open mouths of the hungry eaglet. Once the eaglet has a satisfied stomach, it goes to sleep, and the cycle repeats. This goes on for a few weeks, until one day, mama eagle hovers over the nest. This time, no food is given. After hovering a few times, the mama eagle would make a dive into the nest and begin to shake it violently. She then takes the eaglet in her mouth and soars into the sky. I can only imagine how the baby eaglet would tremble.

Application: Sometimes we as believers like to feed on the rich and tasty messages from God's word, spoken or sung to us in church services that rival a full-blown concert every week. But nothing shakes us to get out of the nest. Occasionally, God shakes up our comfortable nest and we suddenly get worried that God is angry with us or we wonder what we have done wrong. The trials and scary events in our lives are sometimes just God's way of getting to move. Shaking us to spread our wings and share the good news of our relationship with the one and only Jesus the Christ, to those in our sphere of influence.

Lesson 2: Flying Lessons!

"Mama is mad! Mama is mad!" Why did Mama take me from the comfort of my nest? Why are we flying so high?

It's time for the eaglet to learn to spread it's wings and fly. The Mama eagle sails to soaring heights and then drops the eaglet who then starts to struggle. The eaglet falls to the ground but just before it smashes against the rocks, mama eagle sweeps down and rescue's the eaglet. This happens several times and the eaglet starts to wonder why mama is doing this. Every time it is dropped from the sky, the eaglet struggles by flapping its wings. The eaglet remembers back to when it was in the safety and comfort of the nest and it wondered what it would be like to fly like mama eagle flies. Mama eagle drops the eaglet from the sky about 14 or 15 times until finally it gets the hang of flapping it's wings. The eaglet learns how to create lift and soar on the winds that surrounds it by feeling the wind beneath it's wings. What a beautiful picture! The mother eagle is teaching her young to fly. In today's world some will view that as mean spirited and consider it cruel and unusual punishment. I admit I sometimes feel that way about the lessons God teaches me.

Application: Christian believers can sometimes be like baby eaglets, comfortable in the nest. They go to church once a week for food and wait for a pastor to drop "spiritual" food into their mouths. Then once the service is over, they go home, "sleep" for a few days and the cycle repeats. That is until one day when God comes and shakes up the nest and they don't know what to do. "It's the devil! It's the devil!" they exclaim. No, it's our loving Father who allows our nest to be shaken because He wants us to grow and learn to fly. What's the point of being an eagle that cannot fly? Where is the majesty, where is the relevance, where is the beauty? The Word of God says in Exodus 19:4 that "God bore the children of Israel on eagles' wings." The mama eagle treats her young how God treats His children. Just when it seems like we're going to crash ... SWISH ... God comes to rescue us. God lets us fall, but He is faithful to be there when we need Him. When hard times come, I panic, but after awhile I start to pray and cry out to my Savior. I then start to read God's word, and I realize that the answers to my prayers are coming. Hard times always come but in those hard times I find I'm not helpless. No, and neither are you! We see that we can stand on God's word and rely on His promises. What has happened? We've learned to spread our wings! We've learned to fly. God carried us supernaturally through all our trials, even if we didn't feel His presence. Remember, who can see the wind? While mama eagle teaches her young to use their own wings, they cannot see the wind. But over time the eaglet begins to feel the wind like we will begin to feel the very presence of God.

The Eagle's Nest on Popsoftruth.org

Written by: Ron Mirick

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