The Flight of the Eagle>>Lessons of Trust Revealed

What are you waiting for? There is a weight in the the midst of the wait. Whether it’s your prodigal child’s return, a physical breakthrough, that house that’s sitting on the market needing to sell, restoration in a broken relationship, lost family members stepping into the salvation and surrender of Jesus or countless other weighty things, the weight of the wait can be oh so heavy.

What does God have to say about the weight of the wait?

“Mount Up With Wings As Eagles…”

Isaiah 40:27-31
Modern English Version (MEV)

²⁷ Why do you say, O Jacob,
and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my justice escapes the notice of my God”?
²⁸ Have you not known?
Have you not heard,
that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
does not faint, nor is He weary?
His understanding is inscrutable.
²⁹ He gives power to the faint,
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 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.

A Dream, Birds & Joy Vs. Struggle

I was outside in a wide open space on a beautiful, sunny day.  It was one of those days that you relish being outside with blue skies with puffy white clouds decorating the sky and a perfect breeze blowing.

I didn’t have long to absorb my surroundings before I two men suddenly appeared before me.  The first man took off running and with a shout of exuberant joy, leapt onto a group of birds and took off flying through the air on the back of a strong bird.  He actually looked as though he was riding on a surface created by the birds pressed together in a group.  I watched agape with amazement and concern as he swooped through the air taking wild and crazy turns with the birds.  He whooped and hollered out with abandoned excitement and delight.  “Woohoo” was the cry echoing in my ears.

On his heels, the second man ran to grab hold of the feet of a bird as it took off in flight.  Unlike the first man, I didn’t hear him crying out joyously.  He was dangling and hanging on for dear life as if his position felt much more precarious.  I feared that he wouldn’t be able to hold on to the feet of the bird with his own weight pulling himself down.  I had a strong sense of the wind pushing against the man as the bird hurtled through the air.

As I awakened from the dream, I immediately began to ask the Lord about what He was trying to show me.  Having just completed a hectic couple of weeks, I felt that God desired to draw me gently back to Him and show me where I needed to release some things that I was carrying.

I also considered that my husband is one of the busiest people I know and is currently in the process of working to bring his schedule into better balance.  At various times throughout our life we have both found ourselves battling feeling overwhelmed in the midst of very busy seasons.

During the process of assessing priorities and identifying what drives us to take on more than we should, we’re learning that it can sometimes feel like “it’s all up to us.”

As I continued to ponder the dream, I contrasted the experience of the two men and realized how God was responding to our prayers and the desire of our hearts to bring our lives into His perfect order.

Four Main Lessons Revealed

God was speaking key things in the dream which focused me on four main areas of interest.

1. Wait on God’s Timing: The first man “mounted” his bird at the perfect moment.  This enabled him to ride the bird and enjoy his experience.  In my dream it looked like a suddenly moment, but in fact I was not shown how long the first man had waited before leaping onto his bird.  I only saw the moment.  His leap was timed just right though because he was able to execute a perfect landing and was able to fly with confidence and joy. The second man saw what was happening around him and was worried about being left behind by his companion so he ran and leaped to grasp the bird instead of mounting it.  His experience was not secure and, consequently, he was not enjoying the ride.
2. Position: Is Your Success Dependent Upon Your Grip or Being Carried by Him? The first man was positioned in such a way that he was literally being carried along on the wings of the birds as one would ride the waves.  This position provided freedom and ease but it wasn’t without risk.  His safety depended on him being in sync with the movement of the eagle. Because the second man didn’t wait to leap at the right moment, his position was one of grasping and hanging on rather than riding and being carried.  He was left holding onto his entire weight in his own strength rather than the strength of the eagle.  His safety was now fully dependent upon his own grip.
3. There is Strength in Community: The first man who leaped onto the eagle leaped onto what appeared to be a surface created by the bodies of multiple eagles.  The eagles coming together in unison created a solid surface for him to fly upon.  He was riding a team of eagles.  Each eagle had a part to play in supporting the man. The second man was reliant upon the strength of one eagle to hold him up in flight and the strength of his own grip.
4. Trust: The first man’s ride required connection and trust.  In that connection, he was able to turn and lean with the eagle in flight in such a way that he could enjoy the dangerous ride in much the same way one would enjoy a roller coaster because we are securely strapped in.  His feet were secured to the eagle by invisible bindings of TRUST.  In this trust, he was able to enjoy the ride even in the midst of the turbulence of the flight’s twists and turns.  Additionally, he could enjoy the view all around him and was now positioned in such a way that he could see things from the vantage point of the eagle. I felt increasingly concerned for the second man who’s safety was entirely contingent upon his ability to hold on in the midst of the twists and turns up in the air.  He had to carry his own weight, hoping his grip would remain tight as the bird dipped and turned with the forces of turbulence and drag from the wings of the eagle’s flight working against him.  Would he be able to hold on long enough or was he destined for a fall as one by one, the grip of his fingers tightly grasping the feet of the eagle lost strength and eventually he plummeted?

The Waiting Season

I’ve been in a waiting season.  It’s been a beautiful season.  In some areas of my life I’ve been in flight, riding on the wings of the eagle much like the first rider.  In other areas I’ve been the second rider, running and clasping and holding on in my own strength rather than waiting on God’s perfect timing.

I’ve had that experience of feeling one finger at a time wear out and losing my grip until I came crashing down at the feet of Jesus.   I’ve had to cry out, “Father forgive me for trusting myself more than I trust you.”  I’ve had to ask Him to give me strength and have been learning to quit my striving and wait on His timing.

Timing and trust are essential in our walk with the Lord and as we grow to know Jesus more we become content to wait on His perfect timing because we know that He is working on our behalf.  As we grow in connection to Him through the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), we can enjoy the wild, precarious ride up in the air with Him and enjoy the rest that comes from being carried instead of hanging on for dear life.

Some of you, like me, are in the midst of a waiting season.  It can be very tempting to try to run out and grasp to make things happen in our own strength.

It’s important for each of us to remember that God gave us all different strengths and gifts.  So why wouldn’t he just put all we need within us? Because God created us to live in community with one another.  Our dependence on others around us also protects us from pride.

If you are tired and weary, anxious and overwhelmed, it’s a good time to stop and assess how your heart is positioned. There may be areas that you (like me) are fully trusting to the Lord, but perhaps there are other areas that you find you have grown tired and weary.  Perhaps you have thought that God does not see your need; that your cause is unimportant to Him.

Don’t Believe the Lie

IT’S NOT TRUE.  You are dearly loved and He cares greatly for you.  His timing is perfect and there is so much that can be accomplished in the midst of the waiting.

In the meantime, press into Him and press into community to find strength and encouragement. You will hear His voice speaking to you through His servants.  Get to know Him more and more because when you take off together from that waiting place, it’s going to be a glorious flight!