THE EAGLE

The eagle is a symbol used many times in Scripture. In fact, it is
mentioned 39 times throughout the Bible. We can learn some
very important lessons from this majestic creation of God.
Eagles have a wing span of 2 meters and are around 90 cm
tall. The eagle mates for life and uses the same nest for
life. This nest is built in a safe place, often on a ledge
of a sharp cliff. It is built to last and the largest nest
reported is 9-1/2 feet wide and 20 feet deep.
When the babies are born, both parents assume responsibility
for their care. They are gentle parents, sitting on the eggs
for one month. The parents bring food up to the nest and
feed them small pieces of meat. Within 45 days, they
can weigh nearly 40 times their birth weight.
At three months they get special feathers for flying and a
new learning experience begins. The Mother eagle flies into the
nest and begins to thrash around causing a great commotion.
Eventually, one of the babies will fall out of the nest and will
begin heading for the earth below. Never having used his
wings before, he's not really sure what to do, but does
do a lot of flapping while heading straight down.
Just before the baby eagle hit's the ground, the mother eagle
flies underneath in order to catch the baby on her powerful
wings, and she flies him safely back to the nest. This continues
on day after day until all the babies learn how to fly.
There are two verses in scripture that actually mention this routine
of the eagle. In Deuteronomy 32:10, 11, Moses reminds the children
of Israel how God cared for them and guarded them"just like an eagle
that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings
to catch them and carries them on its pinions."Again in Exodus 19:4,
God says that"He will carry the children of Israel on eagle's wings."
We can get very comfortable in our nest. Perhaps that can be our
way of doing things, our way of thinking, our opinions, our way of
living life. Then when God comes and stirs up our nest, we get
upset. We don't always identify this as a growing experience.
Sometimes if we were really honest, we really don't want to grow.
We get very complacent and satisfied with where we are and
any interruptions are viewed as negative. But God wants us
to fly, to become all that he intends for us to become.
He never stirs up our nest without good reason.
Did you know the eagle can see a rabbit two miles away?
It can soar up to two miles above the ground and can fly
at speeds up to 100 miles an hour. They have a separate
eyelid which slides across the eye sideways in order
to keep the eye clean and free from dust as they fly.
Their bones are hollow and therefore light of frame.
Their frame has cross ribs, like steel bars in sky scrapers.
The eagle has 7000 feathers. The back feathers are as
long as the head feathers. Their beak is black until
they turn 3 years of age, and then it turns golden.
When eagles are about 30 years old, they go through a renewal
process. They find a secret place high in the mountains and
begin to claw at their face and tear out the feathers that
have been damaged over the years. As a result, it bleeds
badly. But this is necessary for the eagle in order to
renew its strength. If it did not do this, it would not
be able to live to its normal 60 years of age.
Psalms 103:5says,"who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagles."A time of renewal
is necessary for every child of God. A time when we get rid of
what is weighing us down, holding us back, aging us spiritually.
A time to give up the sinful habits, to give in to the Holy
Spirit in whichever way He is convicting us.
We need to do this, even to the point of renewal with pain.
Some things we hold on to so tightly, that to let go actually
causes us pain. But in order to have the long, powerful,
useful, spiritual life that God plans for us, we need to
do that. It will renew our spiritual youthfulness.
When the eagles are free to soar in God's creation, they are
the cleanest of birds. They were created to be free and to soar
to great heights. They were not meant to remain close to the
earth in the lowlands. They were created to soar. When they
are held in captivity, they become one of the dirtiest birds.
God has created us to remain pure and holy and conformed to
His image. Don't allow the freedom we are to experience in
Him to be compromised by spending too much time in worldly
thinking, activities and mindsets. We need to remain clean.
Eagles do not fly like other birds, they don't flap their wings,
they soar! Flapping their wings would use incredible amounts
of their own strength and endurance..