God Speaking

“but those who hope in the Lord,

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles” – Isaiah 40:31.

When our children were younger, my husband and I owned a cabin on a remote lake in the interior of Canada, BC.  One of the joys of staying in the cabin was observing the wide range of birds and wildlife that wandered through our property.  One of our favourite sightings was a mighty bald eagle that majestically flew across our lake dwarfing the other birds and producing in us awestruck amazement at his broad wing span and his acrobatic displays in the sky.

We were surprised to find out that his powerful swooping and soaring was not only due to his immense wing span.  Eagles are quite heavy birds and weigh between 7lbs – 15lbs.  The reason, we learnt, for their soaring skill lay in their clever use of natural winds, air currents and thermal up drafts.  We also read that they had been seen at 10, 000 ft., an outstanding feat for such a heavy bird.

So what is the prophet, Isaiah, saying to us in the above verse?  One comforting thought emerges in the comparison of us to eagles.  We know that eagles do not rely totally on their own strength.  The Lord is assuring us that we too do not have to rely on our own strength.  The Lord Jesus has given us a beautiful and powerful ally in his gift of the Holy Spirit.  One of the graphic descriptions of his power is that of a mighty rushing wind.  (Acts 2:2 KJV)  Our promise in Isaiah’ s prophesy  is that when we have no strength of our own we can call upon that mighty rushing wind and be lifted to heights we never believed possible.

The other comforting thought that permeates through this comparison of us to eagles, is the tender love and care eagles exhibit towards their young, especially when they are learning to fly.  God describes himself as like an eagle in how he cares for us.

In Deuteronomy 32: 10 -11 we read,

 “…he guarded him as the apple of his eye.

like an eagle that stirs up the nest

and hovers over its young,

and spreads its wings to catch them”

When we know those everlasting arms are right beneath us, we know that nothing can drag us down, nothing can weigh too heavily upon us, and no fear can paralyze us into inaction.  We know that we can spread our wings like eagles and that mighty rushing wind of the Holy Spirit will have us airborne in no time and even if our own wings have no strength the Lord has one more beautiful promise; he will carry us.

“..and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself ” – Exodus 19:4

Related articles

• Wings like Eagles (harvesttimejournal.wordpress.com)
• Sermon: The Holy Spirit And Serving (bigcircumstance.com)