How to Wait Upon the Lord and Fly Like an Eagle
Recently, I received a gift while on a trip to a park my husband and I hadn’t been to before. This gift reminded me of how to wait upon the Lord and fly like an eagle.
Although we anticipated exploring a new park, we ended up changing our plans on the way there because the weather was too windy for us to hang out in the woods. We decided to go birdwatching at Point Holmes Beach instead of giving up altogether on our outing.
And, my-oh-my, did our detour lead to a delightful destination.
A flock of bald eagles and seagulls flew feverishly over waves laced with spawning herring. While the birds feasted on fish, I feasted on photographing the flurry of feathers on the wind. And when sad thoughts of things going on in my life tried to spoil the oasis, I looked up at the sky full of wings and thanked God for the gift of this moment.
How do we soar in the middle of sorrows?
For believers, life is hard and then we fly; we fly away to be with Jesus. It’s not necessarily a good sign if everything is spinning along splendidly. In fact, I recently read somewhere that experiencing opposition during a venture may be proof you’re on the right adventure (my paraphrase).
So how do we soar in the middle of sorrows?
I’ve got lots and lots to be thankful for; however, I’ve also got things going on in my life that scare my soul to death. Because I’ve been on this fallen planet for over five decades, I’ve seen and experienced plenty of stuff that could knock the hope out of me.
But I’ve learned through failure to believe in an unfailing God.
He is able to make us winners in the midst of our losses.
And besides, “experiencing opposition during a venture may be proof you’re on the right adventure.”
As I hinted, in my freshly fleshed out quote above, we’re in a battle. War wages against our souls and the souls of those we’re praying for. The enemy of our spirit isn’t threatened or interested in us if we’re living a lukewarm, prayer-less life. But…he trembles when a woman wearing disheveled hair and a wrinkled house coat kneels to pray in the morning. He rages with anger when a man prays between sips of morning coffee. He cowers when children thank Jesus for loving all the little ones of the world.
- Praying, praising, and pausing to ponder the goodness of God renews our spiritual strength so we can soar during sorrows.
- Why should we focus on loss when Jesus said being lost is finished on the cross?
- To soar above our soreness, we may weep with the sunset and then rejoice when the sun rises to reveal a new day for God to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20 NIV).
- This is the hope we must trust: His Love and power.
- Yes, tears are good—but don’t dwell and drown in them; instead, saturate yourself with Scripture.
When grief is grueling, you may only have enough strength to recite one short verse. I remember having trouble sleeping after my dad died. I recited this short phrase over and over again, “Everything is in His hands.” It soothed my spirit and saved me with sleep.
The devil is a liar. He wants us to focus on fear.
God wants us to listen to love.
When worrisome words whirl around like dirty laundry in your mind, wash them with the Word of God and wring them out with recited Scripture. Write out His wisdom on your fridge, on your mirror, on your heart—so that whiny words are replaced with winning Words.
What we think about builds our inner world. When Bible verses are the blocks we use to form our worldview, our thought-life reflects this. Our thought-life shepherds our moods, our actions, and our reactions.
The fruits of the Spirit are a far cry from 50 shades of sorrow.
Even when the really bad stuff happens to us, Jesus is still our Savior, and joy is still our destiny. Don’t let the liar steal it. Lock God’s Word in your heart. It shoves despair out the door.
And this, my dear friends, is how to wait upon the Lord and fly like an eagle. Isaiah 40:31 also says this:
But they that 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.
I’d like to close with a short poem and a video I took of the eagle taking off in flight:
HOPE
When worries threaten to weigh me down
And the way looks desolate and dark
Help me remember the Truths in Your Word
So I’ll have hope in my heart.
Blessings of His Hope ~ Wendy
What’s your favorite Bible-building-block-verse to beat despair? I’m nosy-to-know.
I hope you enjoy the 90 second video I recorded at Point Holmes:
Great post, Wendy. Love the pictures, video and, of course, your encouraging words. You live in such a beautiful piece of God’s creation. It’s a nice virtual getaway for me 🙂
Thank you, Bill. I thought of you when I decided to post the video because I remembered you liked eagles. I know it’s hard for you to get out in nature, so it blesses me to share this “piece of God’s creation” with my online friends. Heaven’s going to be so fantastic because the animals won’t be afraid of us and none will be harmed. 🙂 Blessings to you & Mary.
Yes, I love eagles. We don’t see a lot of them in our piece of Texas, mostly large hawks soaring over our yard. We do have some bald eagles nesting nearby at the lake we live by, and I see them soaring over me from time to time.
Seeing eagles soar never gets old. So glad you get to see them too.
Loved this, Wendy!
Thank you, dear Gail. I’ve never been so thankful for a detour before. <3
What a beautiful way to remind us of God’s provisions in the middle of our struggles. THANK YOU for that amazing video. I kept thinking about God’s abundant provisions when I saw all those marvelous birds.
To your question:
I call those verses take-a-breath-verse. When I struggle to love others, God reminds of His love toward me “… and his banner over me is love.” (Song of Solomon 2:4). When I am in dire need of wisdom in a particular moment and tend to react in my flesh, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” (Psalm 121:1). Both of these verses usually help me not to react, but take a breath and remember that the Lord has called me and I am not alone.
Thanks, dear Wendy, for your beautiful reminders!!! You are an encouragement to the Body of Christ 🙂
Heidi, your comment is rich with His love, wisdom, and encouragement. It’s a blog post all of its own. Thank you for sharing your “take-a-breath-verse(s).” <3 I've reread your words several times–I want to remember His banner and His help every hour I walk this earth; I stumble without Him.
Whenever, I see the majesty of creation I am reminded of the majesty of our creator. Thank you for stressing the importance of getting into the word. Here is a passage I like:
“4 Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:4-5
Thank you, dear friend. I just happen to be quoting part of Psalm 30:5 in a post I’ll be sharing on a group blog next week. It was quoted to me many years ago during a time of grief. <3
Thank you so much , Wendy! This is where I am and what I am needing encouraged with. I even did a little poem this morning about trials too. :). The verse that a friend gave me during a hard trial recently was from John 16:33. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world .”
God bless you and thank you! We loved the video and marveled at their all flying together but not crashing into one another!
Thank you, dear Debbie. I’m going to write John 16:33 onto a card and keep it by my reading chair. And when I look at it, I’ll pray for you too. I appreciate the encouragement you’ve blessed me with over the last 5 years of blogging. <3
I appreciate your image of worrying words whirling around like dirty laundry in our minds. It is good to be armed with God’s word, so that we can counteract the temptation to worry and see the dark side of a situation. One verse that helps me is Matthew 6:34, which says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
I also love Isaiah 40:31 as you quoted in this blog and illustrated so beautifully with your photographic illustrations. How wonderful that you took a detour, so we could go on this venture with you.
Thank you, Sharon, for coming along on this detour. <3 Yes and amen to Matthew 6:34. Life is manageable when we walk with the Lord one day at a time. Blessings, dear friend.
And he shall raise us up, on eagle’s wings…. Your post is, as always, strengthening and inspiring. Thank you, Wendy.
Thank you for dropping by, dear Cynthia. The eagles are so abundant this year that they regularly fly over our house too. <3