Five days already passed since the last time I published an article on biblical reflection. My plan is to do it once a week primarily for my personal spiritual nourishment. Of course, I would be glad to see if some Hivers will appreciate this kind of content even in the midst of our pre-occupation with finance and blockchain technology.

The passage that I would like to share this time is taken from the book of the prophets, from Isaiah 40:27 to 31. The passage reads:

27 Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 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. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 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 be faint.

The prophet here addresses an affliction that is common to all men regardless of generation. This is an old as well as a contemporary problem among humans. It has something to do with tiredness or weariness.

There are many causes of weariness. Typical causes are connected to family problems, relational difficulties, heartaches, finance, and jobs. Current events too whether local or geopolitical make people tired.

The prophet is telling us about a supernatural kind of strength that knows no weariness. He compares people who possess such strength to soaring eagles.

Photo Credit: by Cheryl Prince

What are the qualities of people soaring like eagles?

People soaring like eagles are not complainers.

If you are weary and tired of your husband, your wife, your parents, your children, your job, and the economy, it will manifest in the way you talk. You will keep on complaining. You will keep on saying, “Why things are not happening the way I want them. It should be this way. It should be that way. They are wrong and I am right.” And you will keep on finding faults in your circumstances and the people surrounding you.

Though the exact language is different, in principle, Israel during the time of the prophet was saying the same thing: “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?”

The other way of putting it, perhaps you are saying to yourself, “The Lord no longer loves me. He is no longer answering my prayers. Why am I not getting the things I have been asking from him? Why the Lord is hiding his face from me? Perhaps, I have done something terrible in the eyes of God that make him angry. I no longer deserve his love.”

Are you saying this to yourself? If you are saying that to yourself, it is high time for you to stop talking to yourself that way. The truth is God loves you far greater than you know yourself. There is nothing more or less you can do that can change the greatness of God’s love for you. God displayed the ultimate proof of His love for you when He gave His Only Begotten Son to die for your sins on the Cross.

Guard Your Thoughts

What words did you say to yourself and the people around you last week? Are they words of weariness? Or are they words of people soaring like eagles?

Don’t you know that your words come from your thoughts and that they will finally shape your action determining results in your life? Watch therefore the words that come out of your mouth for that will be your future. If you want to change your life, change the words you use from words of weariness to words of soaring eagles. But for you to change your words, you must also change your mind.

People soaring like eagles firmly know their God.

Complaints about your situation and the people around you are indications that you are tired. They are also indications that you are changing your focus from God to your problems. Complaints and weariness are symptoms of forgetting your God. You forget what you heard from His Word about His greatness. You forget what kind of God you are praying to, that He “is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.” You forget that our God does “not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

The greatest crisis we have in our time is not economic in nature but the crisis in the knowledge of God. People these days no longer believe in the existence of God. Non-theism is the dominant ideology that determines mainstream conversation on the web. Colleges and universities are now ruled by non-theist philosophers. Unfortunately, the people of God appear to be following the world in ignoring the true and living God. Many equate the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob with the gods of other world religions. The true knowledge of God in our days is very rare.

Grow in Your Knowledge of God

People soaring like eagles see things differently. They choose to see the size of their God rather than the size of their problems. Do you have problems, which are too big and too difficult for you to solve? Yes, compared to yourself, your problems may be too big and overwhelm you. But compared to your God, are your problems bigger than your God? The fact is no one, nothing can be bigger than our God and nothing is impossible with Him.

Another prophet from the Old Testament gave us a warning: “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts, boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth for in these I delight” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

People soaring like eagles have received strength from God.

What makes you strong? Who makes you strong? Is he your husband? Is your wife your source of strength? Are they your kids? Are they your business and your financial situation?

How about if your husband is too busy in his job and no longer gives you the attention that he used to give? Will you be disappointed? Will you be discouraged? Will you complain? How about if your wife becomes unfaithful to you, will you be devastated and could no longer go on living? How about if your kids die, can you still sing “It is well with my soul”? How about if your business becomes bankrupt, can you still say, “Praise the Lord!”?

We can describe the strength that comes from God as “supernatural.” The key idea is that the strength from God is above or beyond the natural strength. Ordinarily, despite that young people are known for energy, but still, they get tired. Runners too grow weary. Walkers experience fainting. But the kind of strength that God provides is a strength that knows no natural boundaries. It is a strength that surpasses even the youth; it does not grow weary, and it is the kind of strength that never faints. That is why those people who possess this strength are compared to soaring eagles.

Spiritual Strength is a Gift

This supernatural strength is a gift. It cannot be obtained by our own efforts. There is nothing in us that deserves to receive this strength. The only qualification for us to receive this strength is to acknowledge that on our own we are weary; that on our own, we are weak. This requires humility for the greatest obstacle to receiving this strength is pride. As long as we keep on trusting ourselves, this strength is beyond our reach. But once we place our entire hope in God, the strength of God will come upon us.

Do you want to have this strength? If you do, humble yourself before God for He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Conclusion

People soaring like eagles once made a decision in their lives to stop complaining, focus on knowing God, and have received supernatural strength from Him. But we all know that complaining and trusting in ourselves are constant battles we must overcome for us to experience this higher kind of life. It is only by the grace of God that we can soar on wings like eagles. Indeed, it is only by the power of the Holy Spirit that you and I can soar like eagles.

May this prayer be your prayer. Lord forgive me for complaining, for trusting in myself, for trusting in human solutions without asking for your guidance and direction, for forgetting about you. Help me to soar like an eagle, a person who is always grateful, has a firm knowledge of You, and has strength that only comes from You. Amen!

Note:

I first published this article on 31 October 2012 and published it the second time last 07 April 2021 on our school website after our Chapel Service.