Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. Deuteronomy 32:11
The Call to Soar
The edge of the nest. It is both the most exciting place and the most terrifying place all at the same time. When you are eighteen years old, jumping is a thrilling concept. The world waits for you and you have been waiting for it. Your parents have helped to get you ready for this moment and you feel confident and secure in your ability to soar - and soar you will. There may be some who don’t feel thrilled at this concept, and they are terrified of what is on the other side of the edge of the nest. Whether you are eighteen or thirty-eight, when God has a purpose for us that requires us to jump, we must trust Him. He calls us to soar, not cling in terror to the edge of the nest.
The call to soar is not just for those leaving the nest for the first time. God calls us to soar always, in every circumstance. In His power and with His grace we can rise above any storm to soar on heights that we can only reach in Him. He never intends us to be crushed by the weight of the heavy storm clouds. He saves our place high above, resting in His power, so instead of being under the storm, we can rise above on the winds that bring the storm. It is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle those burdens.
There will be times when you will try to soar in your own power. When you try to soar in your own power, that is when you will sink beneath it all. We are not meant to do it alone. Isaiah 40:31 tells us But they who wait for 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. This verse comes at the end of a chapter that tells us about the greatness of God. It reminds us that no matter how big and strong we think we are, we will still stumble. But when we put our trust in God, we find a strength in Him that we will not find in this world. We can always find what we need in God to soar above anything.
There will be times in life when you don’t want to soar because it is easier not to, but soaring is always His plan for us. We may find ourselves under the clouds or hanging out on the side of a mountain, and not wanting to do the work it takes to soar again. God gives us the strength, but we must be willing and surrendered to Him. We must spread our own wings and jump, and He will lift us up.
The world will not give us what we need to soar, only God can. The world will take the wind away and watch us fall. Even when it is hard, soaring is the call. Not jumping because we are afraid can cause us to miss some really great blessings. When we jump, if we take our eyes off of Him, we cannot see the way. If we turn our face away from Him, we cannot hear His voice. When we turn our heart away from Him, we cease to follow Him. The world will work hard to lead us away, but we must have eyes to see Him, ears to hear Him, and a heart to follow Him.
It is always uncomfortable to jump at first, but when we stop struggling in our own strength and trust Him, we can relax and rest in Him. Anytime it feels like we cannot soar, God is ready and waiting to catch us and lift us up.
A leap of faith is always into the arms of a loving God. When we flap our wings, we are vigorously exercising our faith through works, based upon what we believe the Lord has told us. And when we soar, we are resting in our trust in the Lord and letting Him carry us amidst the surrounding terrain.
Van Houser
