As I sit here today staring out on the lake I am reminded of this picture. This happened this summer while we were sitting on our deck with good friends. We noticed this rather large bird flying around the lake. Then we noticed that the wings were barely moving like he was just floating around the air. I quickly grabbed my camera with the telephoto lens and captured this amazing photograph. Yes, that is an American Bald Eagle! You see, Jerry and I have a fascination with Eagles and all they represent. I love watching Eagles fly, or shall I say float on the gentle breezes of the wind. To me these birds of prey are amazing. While they often prey on small living animals and fish to eat, they have an amazing tendency to rise above the storms. The soar above the clouds and bask in the sunshine God has given them instead of worrying about what's going on. They sharpen their talons and their beaks so they are prepared for any enemy that may attack them. They renew themselves by plucking out their old feathers so that new ones will come through. They are powerful enough to fly with a large mouth bass in their talons. Their strength is amazing, but the biggest thing I am intrigued by is the fact that they do not wander in the ground like chickens in a chicken coop, they soar. They don't pace around on the ground waiting for their next meal, they go out and find it. They don't peck the ground and mosey around in the dust and dirt, they fly. They don't run for cover when a storm approaches, they embrace the storm and rise above it. Now mind you I have nothing against chickens, just stating the obvious.
Okay you may wonder what this has to do with being a believer in Jesus Christ. Well listen up! As a believer, way too many of us live our lives like the chickens in a chicken coop. We wander around in the dust and dirt waiting for our miracle. We kick the dust around and peck at the dirt and we gripe and complain and moan and groan about our pitiful life. We gather together and commiserate about all our problems. We run for cover the minute a storm hits and we cry and hide and blame God or anyone else we can. We look up at the Eagle soaring in the sky and wonder why God blessed him and cursed us. " Why can't we be so lucky? Why can't we be like the Eagle? It's just not fair!" Does this sound familiar? We look at other believers who are successful and envy and jealousy rises in our hearts. We judge them and criticize them, all the while we are pecking at the ground never trying to use the wings God has given us to fly.
Isaiah 40:28-31 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 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.
Sorry I've been trying really hard to write uplifting messages and I guess I just blew that, huh? Wait a minute, no I didn't! This verse brings such great news to me! Reread it and let the words permeate your soul! Listen we all have choices to make in life. Unlike chickens who cannot fly, we can decide to flap our wings! God has given us all gifts and talents to use. That means we have wings to fly like the eagles! We can flap those wings, step out of our comfort zone and fly! We can learn to embrace the storms in life and we can rise above them. We can soar above the storm clouds and learn from each gust of wind that tries to dissuade us from the course God has given us. We can avoid the lightening bolts of Satan by rising above them. We can rise to new levels in our beliefs by just flapping our wings and rising to above the clouds. We can renew ourselves by removing our old self and letting new feathers replace the old, won ones that kept us down in the chicken coop. Listen we can either be chicken believers or eagle believers. Which one do you want to be?
May I learn to be an Eagle Christian and stop pecking the ground with the chickens. Help me to step out of my comfort zone and embrace all that God has for me, in Jesus name I pray, amen!
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