Soar Like An Eagle

A few weeks ago I watched a hawk hovering over the grassy area at the end of the lake where we live. In one fluid motion he appeared to soar straight up and then hover again. The motion was repeated several times. The act of soaring appears to take very little energy. This majestic bird made me think of the eagle in The Book of Isaiah in the Bible. Only hawks and eagles, to my knowledge, can soar so high so fast. Other birds do it, but not with the majestic efficiency displayed by eagles or hawks. I have also observed very large eagles on Vancouver Island soaring at great heights over large inland salt water bays. Again these very strong birds appeared to be using very little of their own energy. They find and use the power of the rising air currents in order to soar.

Eagles are often used in literature and indeed in the Holy Bible as symbols of strength, vigour, energy and courage. In Psalm 103 verse 5 there is a reference to the restoration of youth like the eagle. In Isaiah 40 we read the very comforting words:

28 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.
29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 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.

In these verses we are reminded of the absolute and infinite power of the God who created us. Left to our own resources we can be weak and pathetic beings. We are nothing without the power of our God. He and only He can give us power and strength. As we age, we need to depend even more upon the resources offered by a loving God. Even the young can’t keep up without His help with the demands set upon us all.

We learn that if we wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength and “mount us up with wings like eagles”. One of the clearest images I can recall when watching these majestic creatures soar is their apparent complete lack of effort. Like they depend on the rising air created by God, so do we have to stop trying so hard and allow Him to lift us up. Although these verses of course address physical strength in a difficult world, we mustn’t lose sight of the spiritual strength offered to us as we soar to the heights.

There is a key word in the last verse. It is a small and simple word. The word is “wait”. If there is one word we should understand in this beautiful reading it is the word “wait”. How do we wait upon the Lord?

We must first of all believe in Him. We must read and meditate on His word as given to us in scripture. We must believe in His Son who is the only way to the Father. We must pray often and earnestly and finally we must pray believing. We must ask God for growing and unfaltering faith. Indeed we must wait for his direction with patience. Finally, as we mature as Christians, we must search for how we can serve Him.

I have really learned in the last little while that even if I suffer physical limitations, it is still very possible to spiritually soar using very little of my own flagging energy. If you will just unfold your wings and wait, He will mount you up “with wings like eagles”.

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