November 25 - The Eagles: If I Could Talk To The Animals

The Eagles:  If I Could Talk To The Animals

“Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.  The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” Deuteronomy 32:11, 12

There are many birds to which God could have compared us but none as majestic as the eagle.  Imagine if God had compared us to a chicken. Let me give you some chicken facts to show you why God has said we are to become like Spiritual “eagles” and not Christian “chickens.

*Chickens are crowd followers. If a chicken sees a bunch of chickens running across the chicken yard, he will take off after them.
*Chickens just naturally "squabble and fight" over things in the chicken yard. If one finds a nice juicy bug to eat, suddenly they all want it.
*Chickens are not interested in the heavenlies. Most of them will never try to fly. They are earthbound birds. They are content to live in the chicken yard, walking around with their eyes on the ground, scratching in the dirt looking for something to eat.

However, the eagle is completely different. There is something special about the eagle and for centuries it has been recognized by nations, kingdoms and empires as the King of the birds. Its image has been reproduced on their coins, seals, emblems and flags. In the United States, the eagle has become our animal symbol of strength from buildings to currency alike.  And God in His Word tells us that of all the birds of the air, it is the eagle that His people are to most identify. That is why he calls us to be "spiritual eagles." Consider some facts about the eagle:

*Eagles mate until death do they part.  Both parents sit on the eggs, guard the nest, feed and also train the young. To the eagle, raising a family is a responsibility that belongs to both parents.
*A new born eaglet is almost like describing a new born Christian. Born with its eyes and mouth wide open. It sort of looks like a mouth that’s been attached to a bunch of fuzzy feathers. We are fed by God Himself.

*Eagles fly differently that other birds.  Many birds fly by flapping their wings through the air with furious movements. Eagles soar. They have an instinctive ability to discern air current and thermals to raise them up above the roughest storms.
*The newborn eaglet has been born in the heights. The parent eagles have built a comfortable nest high up on the rocky crags; safe from all enemies.

Life in the nest to the young eaglet is so wonderful. It’s mouth opens and is filled at its request. The nest is so cozy and so comfortable. This is the life that the eaglet thinks it will experience forever.  But the parent eagles have a different plan…and so does God with us. The reason is, eagles are born to fly. They are meant to soar to heavenly heights and to take in a heavenly atmosphere. It’s inherent in them. Their very nature demands it. It has been placed there by God. The eagle tendency is to mount up. Isaiah 40:31 shares, “They that wait up the Lord shall renew their strength…they shall mount us with wings as eagles.”  While Deuteronomy 32:11-12 describes the eagle’s distinctive when it says, “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft.  The Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.”  Consider this idea recorded by a naturalist:

A mother eagle builds her nest on the face of a cliff. She puts it in a safe place for the birds to be nurtured. The eagle’s nest is made with great skill. It is very large, and it is constructed with branches that are intertwined to make it strong. When the branches are intertwined, then she lines it with feathers and grass to make it soft. Once the eggs have been laid and hatched it becomes the mother eagle’s seemingly endless task of going off on delivery missions where she has to feed the baby birds. She goes back and forth and back and forth and every time she returns she will perch on the edge of the nest and feed the eaglets, one by one.

Scientists have conducted experiments and have moved the eaglets while the mother eagle is gone. The mother eagle knows which eaglet was fed last and so she always starts with one that has gone the longest without food even if they are moved around. She feed them uniformly and she isn’t fooled at all. She nourishes them equally. One day, though, when she comes back she does something differently. This time she doesn’t rest on the side of the nest. Instead she hovers about 3 feet above the nest. Many people do not know that an eagle can hover like a humming bird. This time what she is telling the eaglets that there is something that these wings do and they need to learn about it. After hovering for a time, she will descend into the nest and she will begin to teach her little ones to fly. She will snuggle up against one and she will begin to nudge it ever so slightly to the edge of the nest.

At the edge, she keeps going until they fall out of the nest. Those little birds go hurtling down the face of the cliff, seemingly to their destruction. But no, quick as a flash, the mother eagle swoops down and catches them on her back and brings them safely back into the nest. This process is done to each and every eaglet. Why does she do this? Does she not love them anymore? Well, the babies feel quite secure and comfortable. But that is not what the mother eagle wants. As long as they are safe and secure they will never learn to fly. They were made to fly. It is their nature.

God sometimes does the same thing to us. He disciplines us for our own good. If the eaglets don’t fly after this stage, she moves into the next one. She begins to make life miserable for the eaglets. She begins to take away the soft lining of the nest. She continues and starts to pull the nest apart. Now, it is uncomfortable for them to be in that nest. She continues until there is nothing left of the nest.

Just as it is with earthly eagles, so it is with God’s spiritual eagles. We were made to experience heavenly heights in the spirit. To spread our wings of faith and ride the heavenly winds of the Holy Ghost. It’s inherent in us. Our new nature, as believers, demands it. It’s placed within us by Father God. As eaglets of God, there is an inborn tendency in us to mount up and soar to spiritual levels we’ve never experienced before. Have you soared lately? That’s what eagles do and God is calling us to be His spiritual eagles.

Terry Risser

Reflections:

1)  What strikes you as the biggest difference between the eagle and the chicken?

2)  How has God made your nest uncomfortable in order to get you to fly?

Consider reading the Word today:

Copyright 2014- Terry Risser