On Eagle's Wings

One of my favorite passages is Isaiah 40:28-31.  I love the comforting words found there and often read the passage when I am visiting those who are sick.  In particular I like v 31 - "But those who wait on 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."

Years ago I was employed at a paper plant and one summer day found me on the roof, lubricating some of the equipment.  In the not-too-distant sky there was an eagle that was flying.  Actually, it was soaring.  With it's wings fully extended, it made these lazy circles, going higher and higher, without once flapping its wings.  It must have done this for 20 minutes or so until it was just a speck in the sky.  Apparently (as a city-boy I didn't know this before) eagles can catch a thermal, which is a column of hot air that rises from the earth's surface.  Once in one of these thermals, the eagle's enormous wings catch the hot air, enabling it to climb effortlessly upward.  In some cases eagles can rise as high as 14,000 feet, so high that they cannot be seen with the naked eye.  At this elevation they can soar wherever they want to, left, right, down, rolls, etc, with very little energy expended.  How great is that!

Great enough that God used the imagery of a soaring eagle to teach us.  God is the invisible thermal that reaches heavenward.  When we claim His many promises that are found in the Bible we are lifted effortlessly heavenward, far above the problems and difficulties of earth.  This is what it means to 'mount up with wings like the eagle.'  The way to live the victorious Christian life is not through a lot of self-effort, endlessly flapping our wings, until we are in a state of exhaustion.  Rather, the victorious life is gained through trusting God and relying upon His promises.  They, along with His Holy Spirit, are the wind beneath our wings, enabling us to soar great distances with very little effort or fatigue.

Lord, thank you for the opportunity that each of us has to trust You in this life.  Thank you for Your great and precious promises that enable us to soar with You in the heavens.  In Jesus' name, Amen.