Faith to Rise
One of my favorite animals of all time is the Eagle. An eagle looks so majestic as it spreads its wings and soars effortlessly across a clear blue sky. An eagle easily stands out from the other birds. It has a keen look in its eyes and is always on alert. Eagles are fairly large birds with wide wingspans of 6-8 feet! So their beautiful presence is definitely made known. But did you know that you were meant to be an eagle as well? In the spiritual sense, the soaring of an eagle can be compared to a Christian’s ability to rise above circumstances. Isaiah 40:31 states that "those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings of eagles... (Isaiah 40:31). That’s right. You were meant to fly!
Work Through the Hunger
Although the end product leaves you in awe, the eagle didn’t automatically know how to soar the skies at birth. It needed to learn through a long, uncomfortable process involving many hunger pains. Although its parent would often fly overhead with food dangling from its mouth; it was very selective about how much and how often it would actually swoop down low enough to feed its longing eaglet. The eaglet would get so hungry for food that it would desperately search the nest for an unsuspecting beetle or dried up remains to feed on until the next meal opportunity presented itself. Sometimes it can feel like what you really want is just barely out of reach. It’s in full view, yet to your dismay, remains unattainable. It’s in situations like this that God requires you to develop a hunger as incentive for you to get out of the nest! He cannot take you to the next level if you refuse to leave the secure, comfortable place of the familiar.
Work Through the Abandonment
The process might not only be painful physically, but emotionally as well. Along with hunger pains, you may feel frustrated when a desire is available yet not provided. At first, it seems cruel that the eagle parent would deliberately present choice food options and yet choose not to feed its young and fly off at times, right? Yet this is what’s often necessary for the eaglet to discover his wings as he frantically flaps them in an attempt to get its parent’s attention. As such, none of the emotional pain you suffer is ever in vain. As you continue to develop a hunger for and seek God, He’ll cause you to realize more about yourself than you ever knew or understood before. There is so much He wants to reveal to you! Maybe it’s a new talent, or a skill, or it could just be clarity about a situation that you weren’t previously aware of. He wants you to reach your fullest potential. And He knows that once you start flapping those wings, it’s just a matter of time before you become airborne!
Work Through the Falls
Lastly, you’ll have to work through the falls. Just as a baby falls many times when learning how to walk, an eaglet falls many times when learning how to fly. It must learn to flap its wings fast enough to experience its first few seconds in mid-air. This successful accomplishment emboldens the growing eagle to flap even harder and faster so that more and more time in the air is accomplished. Falls are never easy, nor are they ever fun. But know that although falling is inevitable, so is the increased strength and ability you’ll experience.
When you work through the hunger, the (sense of) abandonment, and the falls that come with learning to fly, you’ll soon be able to soar! The difference between flying and soaring is that with flying, extra effort and work is necessary to stay above ground, but with soaring, no frantic wing flapping is necessary; you learn to utilize the wind currents to lift you high above ground almost effortlessly. Spiritually speaking, when you reach this point, you are able to rise above life’s circumstances because your faith has been radically strengthened. No matter how high up you are or what threats lurk below, you are able to rest with full assurance in God’s faithfulness to keep you in flight. Allow your faith to rise today. And get ready to soar!
MOVE. MEASURE. MARCH.
March On!
Letty Roy
