Title: Like an Eagle/Deuteronomy 32:11-12
Content: Like an eagle/Deuteronomy 32:11-12
“As an eagle stirs up its nest, flutters over its young, spreads its wings to receive its young, and carries it on its wings, so the Lord alone led them, and there were no other gods with them” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12).
If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you want to be? Are you a grandma? Are you numb? An eagle? Ok. I want to become an eagle, the king of birds.
(Visual 25-1) Eagles are called kings of birds for two important reasons. The first reason is that he was born as an eagle's offspring. A wagtail or a sparrow cannot become an eagle no matter how much it mimics an eagle. The second reason is the terribly hard training eagles receive. No matter how bitter an eagle, if it grows like a parakeet in a comfortable world, it will never have the reputation of an eagle.
So, let's see how the vulture trains its young? (Visual material 25-2) Mother vultures are said to build their nests on high cliffs by the sea. Of course, they intend to protect their young from the hands of beasts and vipers, but the bigger reason is to train their young to be kings of birds. Once the chicks hatch, they start training before they even start to feather, that is, before the muscles in their wings or legs begin to gain strength.
If even the eagle, the king of birds, knows how to raise his young like that, how much more will God, the king of kings, forget to train his people to grow up to be children of the dignity and grace of a child of a king?
In fact, today's eagle story is the story God used to tell how He led the Israelites. God's children suffer. That suffering does not come because of a lack of God's love, nor does it come because of His power. Moreover, it is not intended to harass or threaten us. The many hardships we face in life are part of our training to raise us up to be strong and wonderful His people. However, just as a mother eagle that disturbs the nest and has dropped her young flies over her young, God focuses all of his nerves on us during painful training and is very near to the scene of our suffering. Like a mother eagle who receives her young as her wings without any error when the young are in a difficult situation, the Lord rescues us by carrying us on his wide back when we cannot bear it. Just as a baby eagle falls down several times and instead of screaming in fear, it throws itself away with confidence, trusting that the mother eagle will take responsibility for her safety and everything, so we too should have the skills to trust our Lord and surrender ourselves through hardship. It's possible.
The most important attitude when faced with suffering is to trust in the Lord. We must believe that He trains us to raise us up to be dignified and graceful children of God. And we must believe that He is with us at the training site, sharing our pain and sorrow, and taking responsibility for us. And when you surrender everything to him, your training will no longer be anguish and fear, but an enjoyable and exciting adventure.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for training me to be God's dignified and graceful people as the eagle trains its bird. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.