Ready to Tumble

“…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” Deut. 32:11

This morning we take a second look at yesterday’s verse concentrating on the mother eagle’s responsibility once she stirs up the nest. The imagery is powerful as she sits suspended in air above her eaglets to show them how big and powerful she is…she is all they need. ‘She seems to say… “Never fear; I am here…I know you sit on briars. I know you are crying, but I have everything under control.” On Mission With God, p. 71.

Once the little eaglets climb upon the wings of their mother she takes them high up in the air and then pushes them off to teach them to fly. Some fly the first time nudged and others go into a free fall tumbling to the earth. They never plunge to their death however because their mother has it all under control. The mother eagle swoops down and catches them and returns them to the nest…but they have seen the view from above and desire more. Their destiny is secure as long as their flight is instructed by their mother. This process continues until each of them has mastered their flight.

We, too, have a powerful and omniscient parent who shows us His power and glory as He anchors Himself around us to comfort and encourage us. He invites us to climb aboard His wings for a flight that will be eye opening and life transforming. We cannot get the same view from the nest that we can get from the air. Although scary, trust in God is the basis of the flight…do we trust Him to navigate and nudge us in His timing?

About 8 years ago, God stirred up my life one night and shoved me out of my imprisoning nest. I had secretly mounted up thousands of dollars in credit card debt and that night God communicated with me that enough was enough…He was ready to show me the view from above. He impressed upon me such a sense of urgency that I woke up my husband and came clean on everything. What a free fall but God had already been preparing my husband’s heart. The fall was dizzying but the flight was worth it. To fulfill the purpose for which God had created me I had to be placed in a faith-creating position. I had to climb upon His wings, take flight with Him and be prepared to tumble until my little wings were strong enough to fly on faith.

What felt like life threatening ended up life transforming!