Wings Like Eagles

July 12, 2023 Ken Winter

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But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.(1)

“But those . . . .” As i write this post, i am very aware that some good friends are walking through circumstances they had never envisioned. David and Nicole are praying over their teenage son as his body fights to recover from the severe injuries he sustained in a terrible car accident a week ago. Mike is facing total bladder removal surgery tomorrow brought on by the ravages of cancer, as well as the continuing battle he may be facing if the cancer has invaded the muscle outside his bladder. Another is battling the severe effects of depression and anxiety. Still another is facing the collapse of his business and the resulting personal financial ramifications.

Regrettably, i am mindful that the list continues further from there, with each of you who are reading this post being able to add those who are on your own list as you think of family and friends who are walking through severe circumstances, or perhaps, even your own situation.

In my quiet time this morning, i was reminded of God’s promise from Isaiah 40:31 above. I was reminded that as we trust in the Lord, we will find new strength. We will soar high on wings like eagles. We will run and not grow weary. We will walk and not faint.

However, it never truly struck me until this morning that the promise God gave to His people through His prophet Isaiah begins with the words – “But those.” Seeing those two words forces you to look back at what Isaiah was writing before he wrote verse 31.

It was one of the bleakest eras in the history of Judah. King Manasseh had risen to the throne upon the death of his father, King Hezekiah. Unlike his father, Manasseh caused evil to reign throughout the kingdom of Judah. His counselors led him to marry a sorceress who taught him in the ways of witchcraft. The Temple of God was desecrated, the Asherah poles were again raised, and the images of Baal appeared throughout the landscape. Children were sacrificed to the pagan gods and a cloud of evil blanketed the kingdom.

Though the hearts of many were turned to follow their king in his evil ways, there were others who remained true to Jehovah God. They were forced to endure the evil consequences of their day through no fault of their own. Among their number was Isaiah himself, whose heart was broken as he witnessed the growing effects of evil blanketing the kingdom under the direction of his own grandson, Manasseh. And it would be at Manasseh’s hand that Isaiah himself would be martyred.

It was to those who remained true to Jehovah God that Isaiah wrote:

O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles?
    O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?
Have you never heard?
    Have you never understood?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of all the earth.
He never grows weak or weary.
    No one can measure the depths of His understanding.
He gives power to the weak
    and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
    and young men will fall in exhaustion.(2)

Those words were (and are) a reminder that God was not the author of their circumstances or unaware of their existence. He sees and He does not ignore. Neither has He grown weak or weary, as it is so easy for us to become. We ache for those who through no fault of their own are now being forced to endure the severe hardships brought about through the fallenness of our world.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength to soar above it. Sadly, that does not mean that the circumstances are removed. It does not mean that our God keeps us from having to endure the hardships; rather, it means He gives us the strength to endure, the strength to soar above them, and the strength to run through them without growing weary. How can we know God will give us that strength? Because He has promised to do so! And He is not a man that He should lie.(3)

Gratefully, i know that each one of the people i referenced at the beginning of this post are trusting in the Lord. Each one of them are trusting the Lord to give them that kind of strength in the midst of the situations they are facing. They are trusting God for an answer to prayer.

i have come to believe that the Lord, through His sovereignty and by His grace, provides each of us with the opportunity to come alongside those who are enduring those situations to play a role in being those eagles to spread our wings of prayer to undergird them, our wings of service to come alongside them, and our wings of faith to encourage them.

If you are in need of that strength today, trust the Lord to enable you to soar on wings like eagles. And if you know someone who needs that strength today, be one of those eagles.

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(1) Isaiah 40:31 (NLT)

(2) Isaiah 40:27-20 (NLT)

(3) Numbers 23:19

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