“Those 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;31

I was reading this well known verse from Isaiah today and I was curious about what is meant by the term, “mounting up”. I looked it up on the web and, needless to say, I got fascinated by the world of the Eagle and was absolutely amazed at how many spiritual analogies you can take away from this majestic animal. I want to share with you just a few of them that really caught my attention.

Why do Eagles mount up to the sun?

They get so close to the sun’s rays that its heat begins to burn up the debris that’s been weighing them down and incinerates the film that has been built up over their eyes and their strength and vision is renewed.

Ok…wow! There is so much just in that alone. When we, as christians, get close to the Son of God, the power that He radiates begins to burn up the debris and burdens that have so easily weighed us down: things like doubt, anxiety, fear, depression, jealousy, anger, pride, idolatry, thinking too far into the future, comparing our lives to others…… just to name a few. Also, it clears up the film that keeps us from seeing things from God’s perspective. So many times we are not looking to Jesus and therefore we see things in the totally wrong way.

We feel like we can never have victory over sin. We think our way is the best. We get anxiety over circumstances that may or may not hit our lives. We feel like nothing good will come out of our trials. We complain about the mundane and, on the other hand, we whine when we have too much on our plate.

Seeing things from a heavenly perspective completely changes our lives and our attitudes. For instance, we know we can have victory over sin because the Holy Spirit indwells us. The Bible says that “He has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” (2 Pt 1:3) What is the opposite of sin? It is godliness. That means that we have the power to have victory because the Lord has already given it to us; we just need to use it.

We will know our way IS NOT the best way, because His word says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Is. 55:8-9). So, in looking to Jesus, we realize that we know absolutely nothing in comparison to Him. He knows what will bring us joy and what will glorify His name.

When looking at our future we tend to get fearful. What will come tomorrow? What if I lose my health? What if Iose my job? I’m not going to be able to pay my bills. What if a natural disaster happens? What if people turn on me? What if I fail the test? What if can’t gain approval. What if?…………

Once again the heavenly perspective is that we may never know what the future holds, but we know that we do have the precious nail scarred hands of the Saviour, holding our future. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” (Matthew 6:34)

We will see clearly that the Lord can make the most hideous of circumstances into the most beautiful blessings. We will remember that following the Lord in the every day things is BIG to Him. We can wash the dishes day after day, and if we are doing it as unto the Lord, we are bringing Him glory. We can get tired of the kids making noise and the house having to be cleaned up after them, but when we remember that one of the greatest jobs ever given is to be a parent and train up a child in the ways of God. We should then feel privileged to do those mundane tasks. We will also know that we have the same power that raised the Lord from the dead living in us and that will help us face the impossible.

My friend, let us look to the Son of God, so that the filth of this world and the haze of sin that has covered our eyes, are burnt off by the light of His presence. He will renew our strength and our vision will be cleared. Soon we will find ourself soaring on wings like eagles toward the goal of the prize in Christ Jesus.

How do Eagles rise above storms?

They use the winds, especially the strong winds, as well as updrafts coming off mountains and hills. This helps them to gain the altitude and sets them up for a long flight from one location to another, especially when they have a long way to fly.

How can we rise above the turbulent storms that hit our lives. Well, there are many mountains and hills that we have to face as Christians; mountains of hardships that look insurmountable and hills of circumstances that are beyond our control. If we let the Lord use those things to help us gain altitude in our Christian attitude, then it will make it easier for us to get over those rainclouds. Instead of going down in the storm we will sore even further and higher than we ever could have without those mountains and hills of difficulties.

In the winter, Bald Eagles often gather at communal roosts where they are relatively sheltered from the wind and are usually near some source of food. Many of these roosts are used year after year and are thought to serve as a social time for communication among eagles.

The Lord gave me the comparison between the communal roosts and the church. Church should be a place where, at least for a time, we are able to find shelter for our minds and hearts from the things of the world along with others who are close to the Savior. Jesus is the Bread of Life; the One who sustains us. We should be able to enter there and find a place where we can commune and share with each other our joys and our burdens; a place where we can lift up our prayer requests and rejoice, as a body, when we get the answer.

To find Bald Eagles, head for water, where the birds are likely to be looking for fish. During winter times they are especially found along coasts, lakes, rivers, etc.

As followers of Christ we should be found near the Water of Life- Jesus. We should make it our job to be fishers of men. Our focus should be on finding the souls that are lost and giving them the good news of salvation. Our world is getting darker and colder moment by moment and so we need to cling tightly to Jesus and witness, by our words and our lives, to those who need the hope of the Savior.

The biggest enemy of Eagle is humans.

Speaking for myself, my biggest enemy is not satan, nor the world, it is myself, my flesh. I often times choose disobedience over obedience, holding grudges over complete forgiveness, disbelief over faith, screen time over time in the Word. I can say harsh words or think wrong, sinful thoughts. All of these things come from the flesh. I often feel like Paul who said, “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my flesh (my human nature, my worldliness- my sinful capacity.) For the willingness (to do good) is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very thing I do not want to do…….Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of sin and death?” (Romans7:18-19 & 24)

If we were left with that thought alone, the situation would be totally hopeless. Our flesh would rule the day and we would live a life that did not glorify God. Paul, however, has an answer to his heart’s cry. “Thanks be to God (for my deliverance) through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7: 25a) Jesus, alone, can give us the power over our flesh. He can help us to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 For 10:5b). He can lasso that tongue of ours and keep it from spitting out cruel words. The power that we need to have faith over unbelief comes from the Author of Faith Himself. Getting closer to Him, makes us love Him more, and therefore want to spend more time with Him in His Word.

So, my dear friends, may we mount up on wings like eagles and soar towards the Son. May we, through His power, rise above the storms of life. May we learn from our trials to trust Him more and may we always remember that Jesus is the sustainer of all things; the Living Water and the Bread of Life. May we find fellowship and shelter in church. May we crucify our biggest enemy, our flesh, and may we always be on the lookout for souls who need to hear about salvation.

One day we will mount up on heavenly wings to our final destination and we will be able to rest for all eternity, in the presence of Jesus. We will find out that we were never flying alone but were actually being borne on His wings all along.