Week 23/2024
A word fitly spoken is like APPLES OF GOLD in a setting of silver [Proverbs 25v11]
Previously, we saw from Isaiah 40:31, how an eagle soaring in the sky is a picture of how we can rise above crushing circumstances by putting our hope in the Lord. This week, we can learn something else from the eagle as found in Deuteronomy 32v10: “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 on its pinions”. The verse refers to God and how He cares for His people by rescuing them from the desert experiences they often face. But there comes a time when God decides we need to exercise faith and step out of our comfort zone so we can grow to maturity and fulfil our destiny which is to bring glory to Him. Moses uses the analogy of an eagle which builds its nest with sharp sticks lined with feathers and when the time comes for the offspring to fledge, the parents stir the nest by getting rid of the feathered lining. As a result, the nest becomes uncomfortable which encourages the young to leave the nest and fly. However, the eagle parents know the baby needs time to learn to fly so each time the fledging leaves the nest and is in danger of crashing to earth, the eagle catches it and returns it to the nest. Eventually the baby’s wings are strong enough and it can fly off safely.
This is a picture of what the Lord does in our lives as our verse makes clear. Friends, if your life is barren and desolate, call upon the Lord and not only will He rescue you, but He will shield, care and guard you in His nest until you are ready to fly. When the time is right, He stirs the nest and though it might be uncomfortable and unpleasant, He will be there to catch you when you fall and carry you until you can fly on your own.
Paul describes this experience as a fore-taste of heaven in Ephesians 2v6: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”. This means that we are like eagles that can see the big picture – instead of just a narrow earthly viewpoint of my little world that is all about the here and now. When we see life from a heavenly perspective, we will grasp opportunities to expand God’s Kingdom which is exciting, meaningful and liberating.
Amen
Graeme Greenwood