The Eaglet
They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint
(Isaiah 40:31 TLB)
The original King James version of this verse is “mount up with wings AS eagles” (emphasis mine). To mount up with wings as eagles, we need to become eagles, able to fly and soar above the world’s chaos. And we can only do that through Christ.
There are five stages in the development of an eagle: hatchling, nestling, fledgling, juvenile, and adult.
Life for the eagle begins in an egg. Then a white ball of fluff emerges, completely dependent on its parents, who supply the little hatchling with everything it needs to survive.
When we are first born again, we are the little hatchling, fresh out of our egg, taking wobbling steps into our new world. God, our proud Father, is there beside us, watching carefully, catching us if we stumble or fall.
He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping (Psalm 121:3 TLB).
At the beginning of our Christian walk, we may see many answers to prayer and small miracles happening in our lives. God meets us at the point of our fledgling faith to encourage us. At this stage in our spiritual walk, He doesn’t ask a lot of us.
A good example of this is something that happened to me when I first became a Christian. I was desperately short of money and needed $300. A friend arrived at my house, told me the Holy Spirit had laid it on his heart I needed financial help, and handed me an envelope. Inside was $300! There were other instances where I saw His answers to my prayers come quickly. He was taking care of His baby eaglet as she took her first unsteady steps in her new Christian world.
From hatchling through nestling stage, the baby eaglet remains in the nest close to its parents, every need being taken care of but then comes the fledgling and juvenile stages. The baby needs to learn to fly and learning to fly can be very frightening. Mom and dad, who up to this point, have coddled and swaddled their baby bird, are now pushing it out of the nest. Its first attempts at flight are often failures, more plummeting than soaring. But its parents are there watching carefully, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice. If the young one starts to fall, the parents will either catch it in mid-air using their talons to grip it or swoop below and catch it on their wings, bearing it safely back to the nest.
I lifted you up on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself (Proverbs 19:4 MEV).
The same happens to us. The time comes when our wings have grown, and it is time to test our ability to fly. We are pushed from our nest. This is when God allows tests and trials to come our way. It is time for the milk of the Word to become the meat of the Word. . While growing up isn’t fun, it is necessary. The painful and uncomfortable circumstances we may find ourselves in will stretch and temper our faith. The long path to being conformed to His image has begun.
But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold (Job 23:10 NIV).
I wish I could tell you that after a couple of trials you will be good to go but unfortunately it is likely that trials will become progressively more intense as God grows His baby eaglet to a magnificent eagle. Moving from a baby Christian to a mature Christian is often tough, but the ride is exhilarating and incredibly rewarding. So, don’t lose hope or faith when He pushes you from the nest. It means He loves you and thinks you are worth it.
My son, do not hate the Lord’s training. Do not object when he corrects you. The Lord trains those he loves. He is like a father who trains the son he is pleased with (Proverbs 3:11-12 NIRV)
