Soaring like Eagles

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God?".  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."

Here, the prophet is reproving the people of God who are in Babylonian captivity for their unbelief.  He specifically addresses them as Jacob and Israel to remind them that they are God's covenant people.  These titles alone were a huge reminder as to their relationship with their God.  His way of reproving them is by reasoning with them.  I could write paragraphs on just these few verses and the background behind it...but I want to focus solely on the last verse. Basically, when we hope and trust in our own sufficiencies, we are weak and will fall/fail.  But if we hope in the Lord, he will give us strength.  We all know the concept of when we make ourselves weak, He becomes strong in us.... the whole dying to self and living in the power of Christ.  I was especially interested in the whole renewing our strength part and also why the analogy of an eagle was used.  So, I began researching eagles because there has to be something to it!  I found the eagle to be quite the interesting creature.  

When an eagle is later on in his years, he goes through a renewing process.  They find a secret place and begin clawing at their face and tearing out the old feathers that have been damaged over the years, causing him to bleed badly.  But this is a necessary process to prolong his life, renewing his strength.  If the eagle were not to do this, he would not be able to live his life to his full capacity.  

Eagles do not fly like other birds.  They do not flap their wings, but soar.  Flapping their wings would use an incredible amount of energy and strength, and they would require much more food as fuel if they did not soar.  Instead, they sit on a high ledge and wait for the right wind currents to come.  When the time is right, they take off and soar upward - effortlessly.  

Another interesting fact, when the eagle is FREE, they are the cleanest of birds.  They were created to be free and to soar to great heights - they are not meant to remain close to the earth in the lowlands.  They were created to soar.  If in captivity, they become the dirtiest of birds.

WOW.  And who would have gotten all that from just reading the few verses above??  And I didn't even get into that much!  I mean, just like the eagle, we were created to soar - with God.  If we patiently wait on the Lord, HE will renew us.  The renewal process may not always be pretty, but is necessary to live our life to the fullest - in HIM.  He is faithful and He knows what He is doing.  Why do we constantly worry - fail to trust in Him - doubt - etc.  We may not always understand His purposes, but we are not always supposed to!  If we wait on Him and His timing, we will expend a lot less energy.  Rather, let us remember that we are His people and He is our God.  Even though His people were in captivity, He was still with them and ready and willing to give them the strength, if only they asked.  He had not forgotten them.  

So, let's soar like eagles - just as we were created to do.