On Eagle's Wings...

Today I was on the Isle of Wight. We went to see the Needles... and whilst walking back, something in the sky caught my eye. A bird. It was above the cliffs, and it was just hovering. Bearing in mind it was incredibly windy along the coastal path where we were, it seemed a little odd to see something so usually swift of flight, suddenly stationary. Many a time I've seen such a thing before... but today it was different.

Sounding cryptic? I was just watching out of interest to see at which point the bird would give in, or fly away. I watched and waited. The bird was flying into the wind, and at first glance, this seemed to be inhibiting it's flight. The longer I observed, the more I noticed that it seemed to be surveying the land below, and it was managing to stay in the same spot, effortlessly. Why effortlessly? I realised that although the bird was flying into the wind, it wasn't getting frustrated. Now, that might sound amusing, and not having ever been a bird, I wouldn't know from experience... but from what I have experienced, I know that when I face somewhat 'adverse weather conditions' in my life, in other words, when life doesn't go my way-I get frustrated. Not necessarily because it is particularly hard, but probably more because I, with my very human mind, can't understand it, and can't control it.

This seems to be a pattern amongst us, as humans, that we try to control what we can't understand. It's the same with fear I guess. Suppose you were afraid of the dark, what would you do to eliminate that fear? Turn on a light. And if you were afraid of heights? You wouldn't stand on the edge of a cliff. This is where we stumble. Or at least I know I do. When faced with something I can't control, I panic.

Anyway, back to the bird. Without warning, it swooped away, and down to the ground. It had been watching something on the ground, and when it was the right time, it flew away. I was thinking about this, and I came to the realisation that it's a bit like us. When hard things come across our paths, they often stop us from pressing onwards, they confuse us, and hold us back. We often get frustrated, because we have got this mindset that we have got to be somewhere doing something, and all we can think of... is that fact that we can't get there and do it.

As I was walking back along the cliff, I thought about that bird. He didnt' seem to be bothered by the wind in his face, it's likely that if he had tried to fly against it, it would only have got exhausted. Instead, he just waited. I thought that this is a bit like what God does with us through hard circumstances. We may fight them, we may not understand them, and we definitely don't like them, but still we face them. Maybe... just maybe, he allows them, so that we stop. So that we realise our frailty, our humanity, and our misdirection. So that we can have time to think, and refocus. So that He can show us his sovereignty. Ultimately, so that we learnt to trust... that his ways are higher than our ways.

It reminded me of something God says in the Bible. It comes after an awesome passage about God, and his sovereignty. It says:

‘They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint’

Isaiah 40.31

Soaring on wings like eagles always sounded like such an awesome thing. Today, I realised that the soaring bit comes after a time of facing the wind, and waiting. I guess at the moment, I’m in the waiting bit.

But then again, so is He.