There was a man out west who caught an eagle and kept it in confinement for 17 years. At last having to move a distance he advertised to sell all his goods at auction, and that at the close of the sale he would liberate this old eagle, captive for so long. People came for hundreds of miles to see the bird set free. The auction was over. Low clouds hung over the earth, dark and drear. The cage was opened, but the eagle did not move. His master called him. Still he stayed inside.
At last his master pulled him out and with all his strength tried to push the bird toward the zenith. His great wings only spread to allow him to settle back to the man’s shoulder. The man was nonplussed. Just then there shot through the clouds a bright beam of sunshine, straight to the eagle’s eye. And the eagle rose as if by magnet towards the source. [1]
God created eagles to soar on the currents of wind. He created us to be His children and soar on His love and the Holy Spirit. We are like an eagle. We are trapped on this earth and don’t know that we can be free. The whole world seems dark to us as we are blind to the truth of God. Then when we see the S-O-N we fly to the source. We realize what we were created for.
The prophet Isaiah wrote about eagles: “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 NLT) [2]
We may try to fly on our own power. We might try to fly against the wind and grow tired and want to give up. That means that we might quit trying to walk the Christian life because we cannot do it on our own. It is true that we cannot do it on our own but we don’t have to. If we just wait for the Holy Spirit then we won’t be trying to walk on our own strength but in the strength of Jesus Christ just as the eagle soars on the wind currents.
Jesus told His disciples to wait:
“Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'” (Acts 1:4-5 NASB95) [3]
Jesus told his disciples to wait until they were endued with power by the Holy spirit. They could not do what He commanded them to do until they were filled with the Holy spirit. It is the same for us. Once we are filled with the Holy Spirit we can soar on the currents of the Spirit. Then we will not get tired or faint in our daily Christian walk.
By Dean W. Masters
homefurn@preferred.com
Owner of the Masters List:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masterslist/
Unedited redistribution approved
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[1]Tan, P. L. 1996, c1979. Encyclopedia of 7700 illustrations : [a treasury of illustrations, anecdotes, facts and quotations for pastors, teachers and Christian workers]. Bible Communications: Garland TX
[2] Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 1997. Tyndale House: Wheaton, Ill.
[3] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. The Lockman Foundation: LaHabra, CA