Sunday Devotion

Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on 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.”

Did you ever wonder why God used the example of an eagle instead of a chicken?

 

Chicken scavenge on the ground, grumble and complain all day long. A chicken is always looking down into the dirt.  (My apologies to all who raise chickens!)

According to the 7 Highly Effective Habits of Eagles, many of their traits can be transferred to leaders.  I would like to take it a bit further and say these are traits of a Christian.

1. Eagles flock together.  Hebrews 10:24-25  “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
2. Eagles can see long-distances. The strong vision of eagles keeps the enemies away. When the eagles’ body sits still they can see what’s happening around them as they move their head in different directions. Their eyes are specially designed for long distance and clarity.  We too need a vision the guides and leads us.  Matthew 6:22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.”
3. Eagles do not eat dead things. Romans 6:13  “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
4. Eagles love the storm. They are the only birds who love the storm. When other birds try to flee the storm and hide from its fierceness, eagles fly into it and will use the wind and the storm to rise higher in a matter of seconds. They use the pressure of the storm to glide higher without having to use their own energy. They are able to lock their wings in a fixed position in the midst of the fierce storm.         Ephesians 6:13 “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
5. Eagles test before trusting. Female eagles will take a twig from the ground and drop it from a certain height for the male to chase it. Once the male catches hold of it and brings it back, the female flies to a higher altitude and drops it again. This is repeated until the female gets assurance that the male has mastered the art seriously. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Test all things; hold fast what is good.”
6. Eagles train their children to maturity. Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
7. Eagles retire until new feathers grow after they become weak because of old and broken feathers. They find a safe place and stay there until all of their the feathers are plucked out. Then the eagle waits until a new set of feathers grows.  Our good and bad experiences should guide us to make things new and restore proper thinking.   Ephesians 6:20-24  “But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”  Romans 12:2  “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”