Every year my husband and make the drive to Grafton, Illinois and spend the day watching eagles. They are so majestic and regal as they sit perched in the highest branch of a tree or as they swoop down over the Mississippi River looking for food. This year a friend sent me a link to a site that has a live web cam focused on an eagle’s nest in Iowa. By the time I found the site, there were already three eggs in the nest but from that moment I watched vigilantly waiting for them to hatch. Finally, the first little eaglet emerged and my obsession grew as I watched that little gray fluff ball poke up his tiny head and beg for food and then eaglet number two broke though his shell. I have watched the daddy eagle bring food and relieve the mother for short periods of time. I worry about the second born not getting enough food because the first-born is stronger and more aggressive. Last night the third little eaglet made his arrival into the nest. So in order to justify my obsession just a little, I decided to write my Thursday thought on eagles. They truly are a reflection of the majestic and regal God who created them and speaks of them in His word.
“There are three things that amaze me – no, four things I do understand: how an eagle glides through the sky” (Proverbs 30:18, 19 NLT).
One of my favorite stories about the eagle is how he deals with approaching storms. Living in Illinois has allowed me to experience the force and destruction of the wind and springtime storms. I know from experience to take them seriously. When a storm is approaching the animals of the field and the birds of the air can sense a need for shelter and they begin to seek out a place of safety. Chickens are looking for the safety of a coop. Rabbits run for their holes. Squirrels head for their nest in a tree. But that is not true of the eagle. The eagle does not fear the storm winds that are approaching but knows that it is those very winds that will lift him above the storm. He sits quietly and watches the storm approach and he waits. The first drops of rain begin to gently fall and he waits. Then the force of the winds begin to move the tops of the trees and at just the right moment the eagle spreads his wings and catches the power of the wind to lift him upward. He glides in a spiral motion higher and higher until he is above the storm and looking down. He has not stopped the storm but has risen to a place of safety above the storm.
In God’s word we are compared to eagles. Sometimes I know I am more like the chicken scratching the ground looking for a grain of corn but God sees eagle potential in me. In my life I have gone through some fierce life storms. Just like the eagle I immediately sense the need to seek shelter and safety. I know that I am not capable of stopping the storm and I also know that I do not have to fear the storm. I have learned that the winds of adversity that Satan would use to destroy me God intends to use to strengthen me and draw me closer to Him. So when the storms of life come – and they will come – remember our friend the eagle.
1. Fear not Joshua 1:9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
2. Wait Psalm 27:14 Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.
3. Watch 1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
4. Spread your wings and soar above the storm Isaiah 40:31 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.
All of us find ourselves in one of three places. We may sense a storm approaching, we may be right in the middle of a storm, or the storm clouds have passed over and the sky is clear. Regardless, we can all stand and praise our regal and majestic God and believe that we can all fly like the eagle when the storms of life come our way.
I don’t know how long the web cam will be on but if you want to check it out go to http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles
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