Isaiah 40:28-31
The eagle is a symbol
used many times in
Scripture, in fact, it
is mentioned 38 times
throughout the Bible.
We can learn some
important lessons from
this majestic creation
of God. Eagles
have a wing span of 2
meters and are around 90
cm. tall. The
eagle mates for life and
use the same nest for
life. This nest is
built in a safe place,
often on the ledge of a
sharp cliff. It is
built to last and the
largest nest reported is
9 ½ feet wide and 20
feet deep.
When the babies are
born, both parents
assume responsibility
for their care.
They are gentle parents,
sitting on the eggs for
one month. The
parents bring food up to
the nest and feed them
small pieces of meat.
Within 45 days they can
weigh nearly 40 times
their birth weight.
At three months they get
special feathers for
flying and a new
learning experience
begins. ***The mother
eagle flies into the
nest and begins to
thrash around causing a
great commotion.
Eventually one of the
babies will fall out of
the nest and begin
heading for the earth
below. Never
having used his wings
before, he's not really
sure what to do, but
does do lots of flapping
while heading straight
down! Just before the
baby hits the ground,
the mother eagle flies
underneath in order to
'catch' the baby on her
powerful wings and she
flies him safely back to
the nest. This
continues on day after
day until all the babies
learn to fly.
There are two verses in
scripture that actually
mention this routine of
the eagle. In
Deuteronomy 32:10,11
Moses reminds the
children of Israel how
God cared for them and
guarded them just "like
an eagle that stirs up
its nest and hovers over
its young, that spreads
its wings to catch them
and carries them on its
pinions." Again in
Exodus 19:4 God says
that "He will carry the
children of Israel on
eagles' wings".
We can get very
comfortable in our
'nest'. Perhaps
that could be our way of
doing things, our way of
thinking, our opinions,
our way of living life.
Then when God comes and
'stirs up our nest' we
get upset. We
don't always identify
this as a growing
experience.
Sometimes if we were
really honest, we really
don't want to grow.
We get very complacent
and satisfied with where
we are and any
interruptions are viewed
as negative. But
God wants us to fly - to
become all that He
intends us to become.
He never stirs up our
nest without good
reason!
The eagle can see a
rabbit two miles away.
It can soar up to two
miles above the ground
and can fly at speeds of
up to 100 miles per
hour. They have a
separate eyelid which
slides across the eye
sideways in order to
keep the eye clean and
free from dust as they
fly. Their bones
are hollow and therefore
light of frame.
Their frame has cross
ribs like steel bars in
sky scrapers. The
eagle has 7000 feathers.
The back feathers are as
long as the head
feathers. Their
beak is black until age
of 3 years and then
turns golden.
When eagles are about 30
years old they go
through a renewal
process. *** They find a
secret place high in the
mountains and begin to
claw at their face and
tear out the feathers
that have been damaged
over the years. As
a result, it bleeds
badly. But this is
necessary for the eagle
in order to renew its
strength. If it
did not do this it would
not be able to live to
its normal 40 years of
age.
Psalms 103:5 says "who
satisfies your desires
with good things so that
your youth is renewed
like the eagles."
A time of renewal is
necessary for every
child of God. A
time when we get rid of
what is weighing us
down, holding us back,
aging us spiritually.
A time to give up the
sinful habits, to give
in to the Holy Spirit in
whatever way He is
convicting us. We
need to do this even to
the point of renewal
with pain! Some
things we hold on to so
tightly that to let go,
actually causes us pain.
But in order to have the
long, powerful, useful
spiritual life that God
plans for us, we need to
do that. It will
renew our spiritual
youthfulness.
When the eagle is free
to soar in God's
creation, they are the
cleanest of birds.
They were created to be
free and to soar to
great heights.
They were not meant to
remain close to the
earth in the lowlands.
They were created to
soar. When eagles
are held in captivity,
they become one of the
dirtiest birds.
God has created us to
remain pure and holy and
conformed to his image.
Don't allow the freedom
we are to experience in
Him, to be compromised
by spending too much
time in worldly
thinking, activities,
mindsets. Remain
clean!
Eagles do not fly like
other birds, they don't
flap their wings but
rather soar.
Flapping their wings
would use incredible
amounts of their own
strength and endurance
and they would require
so much more food as
fuel if they didn't
soar. Instead they
sit on a high ledge and
wait for the right wind
currents to come.
When the time is right,
they take off and soar
upward.
Effortlessly, because
they have waited for the
right time. There
is a special 'up going'
wind, that they ride as
it circles higher and
higher toward the sky.
What a lesson for God's
children to learn.
How often do we waste
strength by jumping out
too soon and 'flapping
our wings', instead of
waiting for God's
timing. Waiting is
not a popular concept in
these days of instant
everything! But
when we wait on the Lord
- wait for His timing -
wait for His answers -
wait for His direction,
then we can soar to new
heights and fly to new
places.
"Those who wait on 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 faint."
©Linda Ozirney
http://www.bgc.ca
(on left side, scroll
down to Women's
Ministries)
All rights reserved.
Reproduced with
permission of author
***
I cannot confirm the
validity or accuracy of
these statements, but
left the statements "as
is" at the request of
the author.
However, the
inspirational lesson
contained in this story
is invaluable.