The eagles have babies. There’s a big nest in a tree at the end of the lake, and the parents take turns standing sentry on a nearby branch. Normally they don’t seem to notice my kayak but this time as I paddled close, one swooped down and piped a stern warning. Then another rose up right in front of me, wings spread out the size of a man. I watched it soar into a tree, take stock of its surroundings and then take off in search of food.
Oh, if I could fly like that eagle!
There are times when I think I could fly like that, if I had wings. I feel strong and alive, like nothing can stop me. But other times, I give out. My burdens are too great for me to carry anywhere — let alone fly away with them. How is it that an eagle does not faint? When things are looking bad and I can’t get myself up and going, I take strength from these words of Isaiah:
Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel,
“My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary, his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for 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.
(Isaiah 40:27-31)
It’s worth meditating on piece by piece. I like the way it meets me where I am, wondering why God isn’t coming to my help. Then it reminds me that He doesn’t get tired out the way I do, and he shares his get-up-and-go with those who don’t have it. Even my kids get tired sometimes. God knows I do! But “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
God only asks that you wait for him.
I find it hard to wait. I want to take control and make things happen. But waiting on God makes me aware of his power. Waiting on God helps me use His strength instead of my own. And waiting on God is effective! “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”
“Waiting” on God can seem passive or mindless or senseless, but it’s not:
• It is rooted in faith—In the certain knowledge that God is the everlasting God, creator of all, strong and full of love for us and working for our good.
• It is grounded in hope—in forward-looking, confident anticipation.
Read those words from Isaiah again. Pray with them. Make them yours. The Lord knows you inside and out. He never tires. And he gives strength to those who wait for him.
Ponder what the last verse means for your life. For example, I consider what it means to mount up with wings like an eagle:
1. Eagles’ wings are strong. They not only lift the bird, they help it soar.
2. Eagles fly above the mess of the everyday, in the pure air of heaven.
3. From their lofty vantage, they get a big-picture view of their world.
4. That view lets them see with clarity.
Those are four things I want and need especially when I get discouraged and overwhelmed: Power. Release from the mess of the everyday. A big-picture perspective. A clear view of my life.
Lord, help me wait.
© 2018 Sarah Christmyer
You might also like: When it feels like God is not there: Wait!
Leave a Reply