Soar Like An Eagle

“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.”

Isaiah 40:31


I was raised in a home that enjoyed competitive sports. My dad was an accomplished athlete who became a coach then an official. My dad was always drawing up plays that he thought would help us win but the thing he stressed most no matter what the sport was we were participating in was conditioning. He would often tell me that the evenly matched team is going to win or lose in the fourth quarter. It’s not always the best team that wins but the team who is in better condition, the team that has the most endurance will prevail. And guess what, many times he was right. The close games we won or lost were in fact won or lost in the fourth quarter and it was due to the shape we were in at the time. There is nothing so embarrassing as running out of energy before the game is over.

Thats why the writer of Hebrews reminds us that to run this race of faith we need to train like an Olympic athletes and eliminate anything that will hinder us and slow us down. Olympic athletes were so serious about the things that might hinder their performance they ran naked so that nothing could hinder their stride. (I know I’d run faster if I had to run naked, lol). Be aware today that the devil wants nothing more than for you and I to be dragged down with sin and the burdens of this life so that we eventually give up and quit. I already know what giving up feels like, I want to feel what it’s like when I don’t.

The truth is, life can easily drag us down if we let it. It was Corrie ten Boom who once said, “when I look around I get confused and when I look down I get depressed, but when I look up my hearts at rest.” That’s it, the key to our success is to look up, to keep climbing as Hebrews 12:2 reminds us, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Up is the direction we need to go! Looking up reminds me of a funny quip that went like this, “You can’t soar with the eagles if you walk among the turkey’s.” Today it’s time you and I start soaring with the eagles!

Speaking of eagles are you aware that the only bird that dares to attack an eagle is the crow? That’s right, a crow. A crow will land on the eagles back and bite his neck. The interesting thing is the eagle does not panic or respond, nor fight with the crow; it does not spend time or energy on the crow but instead the eagle just opens its wings and begins to rise higher and higher in the heavens. The higher the flight, the harder it is for the crow to breathe and eventually the crow just falls off due to a lack of oxygen. Talk about laying aside the weight and the sin that so easily entangles you.

We can learn a lot from the eagle and don't fight the crows in our lives but rather, just keep going higher. Crows will attack us but if we will keep climbing higher they will soon fall off. A great reminder today to not allow yourself to give in to the distractions but instead keep our focus on the things above and keep rising!


“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”

Hebrews 12:1


I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

Recent

Archive

Categories

no categories

Tags

no tags