Soaring on Eagle Wings

Soaring on Eagle Wings

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Lord, we are willing to let our spirits soar.  Teach us how and why.

Isaiah 40:31 (NIV2011)
^“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

God does all things decently and in order.  When He engages us in process of growth, that process begins with a firm foundation.  In other words, we must first be equipped to soar before we can soar.  

In the process to soaring, the foundation is hope. In translating Isaiah 40:31, most versions of the Bible say, “those who wait on the Lord.”  The NIV reads, “Those who hope on the Lord.”  The Hebrew word is kaw-vaw which means to wait for, to expect.  When we wait upon the Lord, we expect Him act. 

Hebrews 11:1 puts hope in the context of faith.  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV) The first step in allowing our spirit to soar is to stand in hope of the promises of God. Standing in hope is standing in the knowledge that God is faithful to His word and will fulfill that word.  

We must come to expect that God will intervene in our lives.  God’s intervention will most often involve changing us rather than changing our circumstances.  Paul wrote to the church at Philippi from the confines of prison and said, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:   I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Paul, even in the confines of the dungeon, stood in hope.  He did not allow his circumstances to interfere with his relationship with his Lord.

Our circumstances should not prevent us from soaring because our relationship with the Lord enables us to wait in hopeful expectation.   Waiting in hopeful expectation renews our strength.  Nehemiah, speaking to the discouraged Israelites who had returned from the Babylonia exile to rebuild the temple and the city walls, declared, “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10).  Waiting in hopeful expectation for the Lord renews our joy and, therefore, our strength.

The second step in the soaring process is to enter into the joy of the Lord.  We know that joy is part of the fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5:22-23, but we seldom think of God as being joyful.  Have we even considered that just as we find joy in our relationship with the Lord, that He, too, finds joy in that relationship?  Consider Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV): “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing."  God enjoys fellowshipping with us.  

Filled with His joy, we will soar on wings like eagles; we will run and not grow weary, we will walk and not be faint.  We must soar on wings like eagles or we will grow weary and faint.  How does an eagle soar?  Eagles’ wings are long and wide enough to carry their own body weight plus the weight of most of the prey that they capture. It takes energy to flap such large wings.  That is why when eagles are flying long distances, they often soar on an updraft until they reach high altitude, and then glide and soar to fly long distances using less energy than flapping their wings would require.

Several years ago, when I was driving across the state, the Lord allowed me to see a mother eagle teaching her two eaglets to fly.  Each time the little ones grew weary and began to descend, Mama flew beneath them flapping her wings and creating an updraft on which they could soar and glide.  She, literally, became the wind beneath their wings.

We can weary ourselves in trying to flap through this life.  However, we don’t have to do it alone.  We can, like Paul, declare that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.  When we accept that Jesus Christ died to pay the price for our sins, that He rose again in victory, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our hearts.  It is the Holy Spirit within Who enables us to run and not grow weary, to walk and not be faint. He is the wind beneath our wings. 

Lord God, thank You for filling me with Your Spirit, for allowing my cup to overflow in joy and enabling me to soar like an eagle. You, Lord, are the wind beneath my wings.