“He protected him and cared for him,
guarded him like the pupil of his eye,
like an eagle that stirs up her nest,
hovers over her young,
spreads out her wings, takes them
and carries them as she flies.”
-Deuteronomy 32:10-11
In Deuteronomy 32:11, we’re presented with one of the most inspiring and powerful metaphors in all of Scripture that shows us how the Lord cares for His people Israel.
The metaphor I’m talking about is that of a mother eagle teaching her children to fly.
If you’ve ever wondered why life can be so difficult at times, perhaps this metaphor will explain why and give you hope in the midst of the challenges of life.
Let’s examine how the process of a mother eagle teaching her young to fly really works in the the real world.
Imagine if you will a mother eagle snugly settled in with her young one in a nest in the crags located up on a very, very high place.
Then imagine if you will the mother suddenly pushing her youngster out of the nest and…
…allowing it to literally drop a good ninety feet or so.
However, just in the nick of time, the mother eagle with her powerful wings swoops down with great speed and catches her child onto her back and safely brings her back to the nest.
After a rest time of about 10 minutes or so, this process is repeated over and over again.
The mother shoves her child out of the nest and lets the youngster tumble towards the ground and again just before things start looking really dangerous, the mother eagles swoops down and comes to the rescue again.
Now imagine that this “flight training” continues for more than an hour or so until the young eagle finally learns to use its wings.
There are a ton of spiritual takeaways here.
The first lesson is that there is indeed no growth in comfort.
In order for us to grow spiritually or otherwise, I believe the Lord pushes us into difficult and sometimes downright terrifying situations in order to strengthen our faith in Him.
The only way God could properly train Israel was to take her to the high places and then release her.
Of course, in the beginning, due to lack of confidence and faith, Israel would drop to the earth like a heavy stone totally helpless.
However, in the nick of time the Lord would rescue Israel and repeat the process.
Sometimes the Lord gave Israel time to catch her breath and sometimes He didn’t.
When God decided the time was ripe again, Israel would be forced to leave her “nest” or her comfort zone again and again and again and again.
And it didn’t matter how many times were needed.
Hashem exercised great patience in training His people.
Israel may have been scared out of her mind.
She may have felt helpless, alone and totally out of control.
Yet, in the the nick of time, God was always there to rescue her just as a mother eagle rescues her child.
Finally, at the end of the day, when all was said and done, Israel’s faith would have been strengthened to the point where she could soar freely above the high places.
So the next time you find yourself in a hopeless situation that seems to be teetering out of control, be of good cheer.
The Lord is testing and training you so that you too will be able to soar to places you had never before imagined possible.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
Shortly before dawn
Yeshua went out to them,
walking on the lake.
When the disciples saw him
walking on the lake,
they were terrified.
“It’s a ghost,” they said,
and cried out in fear.
But Yeshua immediately
said to them:
“Take courage! It is I.
Don’t be afraid.”
“Lord, if it’s you,”
Peter replied,
“tell me to come to you on the water.”
“Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat,
walked on the water and came toward Yeshua.
But when he saw the wind,
he was afraid and, beginning to sink,
cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Yeshua reached out his hand
and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’
he said, ‘why did you doubt?”'”
-Matthew 14:25-31
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