Soaring As The Eagle!

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;..."  (Isaiah 40:30-3

"In 1976 I was privileged to spend a number of weeks in the Solomon Islands with Missionary Neil Morely. We were ministering to and teaching groups of indigenous pastors. It was necessary to fly from one island to another. We were blessed to have Missionary Aviation Fellowship flights available. I will never forget a flight back from a remote village on the Island of Malaita to the main town of Honiara. A storm arose just as we were preparing to take off in the sea plane. The pilot was obviously quite concerned. He would have to fly over a mountain range.

He told us he had no choice because there was a medical emergency. As we headed out, directly into the storm, the clouds became very dark and ascended high into the heavens. It was clear the pilot was praying as hard as we were. Just before we met the storm he said, “Pray with me. I’m going to run into the storm front. If we are blessed, the leading edge up-draft will lift us above the storm and over the mountain!” Our prayers were answered. At just the critical moment the wind caught us and tossed us upward like an autumn leaf for what seemed like a thousand feet or so. You can hardly imagine the prayer of gratitude that flowed for from the heart of His dear little child that day! When I think of our God’s promise that we can mount up with wings as eagles I always think of that awesome and powerful experience."

The Flight of the Christian Eagle

Isa. 40:28-31 “Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.”

In this world of woe there are so many factors that can drag us down and make us basement dwellers. Family, friends, work mates, situations and circumstances beyond our personal control or remedy, all sometimes work independently or collectively to bring us low and bind and incapacitate us.

But God tells us in all circumstance we can “ . . . mount up with wings as eagles;” Those who trust  and depend upon the Lord can break the shackles of despair that bind them and soar free from the miserable moods that plague them. God has made marvellous provision for our escape. The eagle has always been a noble symbol of strength and a greatness. God uses this beautiful and majestic bird to show us the way of triumph over discouragement and despair.

Those that truly depend upon the Lord need never become dependent upon chemical solutions for their problems. My experience indicates that many addicts begin their down hill journey by attempting to deal with or drown the effects of ordinary daily irritations and afflictions with alcohol or drugs.

Once  I was assisting  my grandson in some homework in biology. He was studying birds and their different types of wings. I found it fascinating that God made different types of birds with radically different sorts of wings designed to fit their particular needs and environment. The eagle is a soaring bird. His wings are aerodynamically designed for soaring. The eagle loves storms and winds that would be considered adverse and destructive by the ordinary bird. He simply effortlessly spreads his wings and catches the up-drafts and peacefully soars far above the buffeting winds without even having to flap his wings.

What a beautiful analogy God gives us in this simple simile! We have the unlimited power of the Holy Wind (hagios pneuma) of God to lift us above the terrible twin peaks of discouragement and despair. All we have to do is to spread our wings of faith amidst the raging winds and storms of life and we will be borne freely into the heights of the wonderful calm of His presence and peace.

Freedom’s Price?

On this weekend as Americans honour those who paid the supreme price for their freedoms, it is appropriate to remember that freedom never comes cheaply. Perhaps we should remember some of the immortal words spoken by patriots on the subject.

One said, “Give me liberty, or give me death” Another said, “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” Someone else stated. “It is better to die a free man on your feet, than to live as a slave on your knees.” Mann said, “No man escapes when freedom fails, the best men rot in filthy jails, and those who cried, ‘Appease! Appease!’ are killed by those they tried to please.”

I read a time back that over 200,000 Christian clergymen were killed for their faith in the former Soviet Union between 1917 and 1988. In addition, tens of millions of simple Christians died during this era as well. Let us never forget our forefathers who paid the ultimate price that we might be free of such religious repression and persecution. Let us also remember there is a continuing price to be paid in each generation if these precious freedoms purchased at such a high price are to be maintained and passed on.

But there is another sort of freedom that is even more precious and costly. It is the freedom our Savior spoke of when He said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free - If the Son makes you free, you are free indeed.” The price of this freedom has already been paid. It was purchased by the Father and Son at the most terrible cost. The ultimate sacrifice  made by the Father and Son to procure our spiritual freedom is beyond the comprehension of the mortal mind. Yet, this incomprehensible freedom is offered to mankind absolutely free. Paul said: “For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The spiritual freedom God offers to those who will repent and believe upon His Son is more than momentary and historical. It is eternal. When we are born again of His Spirit and become new creatures in Christ Jesus, we are justified by faith.

We are saved from:

The penalty of sin

The power of sin

The presence of sin

We are given eternal freedom from sin. We are immediately saved from the penalty of sin. Daily we are being freed from the power of sin in our lives. When we are ushered into His presence eternally, we will be freed forever from the very presence of sin!

What does such spiritual liberty mean in a practical sense? God enjoined His Old Testament people to, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land.” Paul said to God’s New Testament people, “Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free...” And, “For brethren, ye have been called too liberty; only use not that liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”