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Driving With Eagles
Apr 2, 2016
I was on my way into town, driving on the highway, when an eagle leaped to flight from the field alongside the road. It kept pace with me outside my truck window, flapping its majestic wings, eyes forward, for a quarter mile. Then it lifted, turned and flew toward the pines lining the field. I was thankful– and lucky not to cause a head-on collision.
There are multiple nesting sites along the rivers near my home. It is always a thrill to see them perched high atop a tree or gliding overhead. My kids are used to me “shouting” an eagle sighting, but I remain unapologetic.
Eagles were rare when I was their age. I consider it a small miracle every time I see one. And this one, flying with me, is a miracle capital M.
There were times in Israelite history when miracles were rare, when God was silent. There are times in our lives when God is silent. The fact is God uses silence. The book of Judges is full of examples. He uses it to break the pride in ourselves. Sometimes He uses silence to let us think ourselves into conclusions He then shatters and corrects.
In fact, when Jesus was born in Nazareth, it was a time when the Greek philosophers, after hundreds of years and several attempts to find truth and its meaning, gave up. They had thought themselves out, declaring the answer must be that truth does not exist. When they were comfortable in their conclusion, Truth appeared and would assert 1) truth existed 2) He was the truth and 3) truth would set them free.
I am not sure what you may be hoping for, believing for, praying for. But perhaps you’ve concluded that God is never going to provide the answer. You’ve given up. Please be encouraged that God can use silence to draw us closer. Sometimes He steps back to lure us forward, increasing our desire for His presence and His words. He can use the silence to test our hearts. This testing is uncomfortable, revealing us even to ourselves. More terrifying is the silence that comes as a result of rejecting God. You, however, if you’ve read this far, are not rejecting God; you are seeking Him.
Don’t give up. James 1:3 says the testing of our faith produces perseverance. In Psalm 131 David wrote that he had stilled his spirit like a weaned child. This portrays a quiet trust that what you need will be supplied, but you have no control over when or how. It is a leaning, a depending on God.
I am wholly with you. I need to learn to stop crying and fretting for an answer. I too am working on quiet trust that continues to think victory, continues to speak victory, no matter how hungry I am for the need to be fulfilled.
That is why I think the eagle flying alongside me is such a big deal. It reminds me that “…those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] Will gain new strength and renew their power; They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun]; They will run and not become weary, They will walk and not grow tired.” (Isaiah 40:31 Amplified Bible)
So here’s my goal and I hope you make it yours: I’m leaning and resting while I’m waiting. I am going to enjoy my life, riding on eagle’s wings.
Image courtesy of Jeff Ratcliff at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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