“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for 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 40:30-31
I’ve read Isaiah 40:31 for years. It’s usually plastered on a coffee mug or cheesy Christian painting of a bald eagle. What’s amazing, really amazing is how much that scripture means to me now. After an unprecedented season of difficulty and the daily ebb and flow of ‘we will survive: a global pandemic, racial and political division and whatever other issues our country wishes to divide over?!’ There have been moments I’ve felt like quitting the ministry, quitting civilization, and buying a cabin in the outback of northern Canada. Anyone else? Yet, it’s in those moments, when verses like Isaiah 40:31 go from pithy church sayings- to the living word of God. The Lord has been reminding me in moments of personal and corporate prayer about the eagle. I decided to do some research on the eagle. (By research I mean google it lol) here are some things the weary sons and daughters should know about the eagle:
- An old eagle, say 40 yrs of age will fly to the high places and find refuge. It’s in that secret place that he will remove his old feathers and painfully rip out each of its old talons. Finally, the old eagle will beat its old beak against a rock until it eventually is ripped off. Then the eagle waits- upwards of 5 months. The process is slow and leaves him vulnerable. But after some time, new feathers, talons, and a strong beak regrow. The eagle will live another 30 yrs and leave the high places like new. This should bring Ps 103:5 into focus “….your youth shall be renewed like the eagles”. Difficult seasons can be God’s painful breaking off stale old ways and routines and replacing them with something fresh and new.
- Eagles are some of the most efficient and graceful birds in the air. They’ve trained themselves to look for the wind. The moment a gust of wind blows in the eagle’s face, he will spread his wings and allow the wind to take him to unthinkable heights. This difficult season has been a training season for me personally. I’m kind of a type A put your head down and work hard and hope for the best- the eagle allows the wind to do the work- to lift him up. I’m learning to wait for the wind of the Holy Spirit a lot more in my life- to sense what He wants and what He’s doing- to do the heavy lifting.
- Eagles, for the most part, eat living things. They are less likely to eat something dead as opposed to other birds like the vulture or the raven. I’m learning in difficult seasons like this, spiritual ‘junk food’ will not get me through. I need to refine my spiritual intake. Too much TV, media, and news may be enough to get you by in some seasons…..but not this season. Let’s feast like the eagle, on the living word of God.
- Eagles have great vision and focus. An eagle can lock onto a small rabbit up to 3 miles away- nothing will distract the eagle from his mission, his prize. This season has been somewhat jarring and distracted- however, I sense God’s spirit renewing our focus and vision like the eagle. He is fixing our focus back onto His great commission, to go into all the world and make disciples. The most focused, mission-oriented people I’ve met on planet earth are the navy seals. I’ve had the privilege of spending some time with them. They’ve mastered focusing themselves on the mission at hand. Have you ever noticed the famed seal team trident pin? Of course, it’s that of an eagle holding onto an anchor to show its connection to the navy, a pistol to show its mastery of combat, and a trident to display their mastery of the sea. God is calling His Church to refocus and answer the call. Let’s go eagles!!