GodSprings - January 25, 2016

Why Sit When You Can Fly?

In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft. Deuteronomy 32:10-11 (NIV)

To an eaglet, nothing could be more terrifying than learning to fly. Why leave the comfort of a warm nest with ample provision and protection? Eventually the day comes, however, when the parents stir up the nest. The first thing the parents do is to remove the soft fur and down feathers that have been carefully placed in between the jagged sticks that make up the nest—fur and feathers which, up to this point, have acted much like the eaglet’s personal security blanket.

Moses had led the children of Israel for forty years, and the time came for him to leave the children of Israel. Moses would not be permitted to enter the land God had promised to the Israelites because he had misrepresented God to the people (Num. 20:1–13). As Moses and the Israelites stood on the border of the Promised Land, looking down at the intimidating valley floor below and all that was about to be theirs, they needed a nudge. So Moses began to recount to them their history, a history that was filled with the provision and protection of God, a history that at times even included God acting much like an eagle acts toward her young when she stirs up the nest.

One of the best ways to prepare for the future is to consider the past. The stirrings of life can appear to be a great disturbance or interruption. Sometimes, a stirring may even seem destructive and dangerous. But we must recognize that God is not trying to hurt His children. Rather, He is preparing them to fly.

To a Christian, nothing can be more terrifying than stepping out of a comfort zone and flying by faith. But if we sit in the security of our nests too long, the day will come when God must stir things up, not because He wants to make our lives miserable, but because He has given us wings. Why sit when you can soar?

When God stirs things up in our life, when He begins to nudge us on into new areas, seek how we can allow the wind of His Spirit to take us higher and fly farther than ever before.