How to soar like eagles
Frustrated. Stressed. Tired. Overwhelmed. Unfulfilled.
Sadly, these are the words many men—even committed, God-loving Christian men— would use to best describe their lives. But a frenetic, discontented, anxiety-laden lifestyle is polar opposite of God’s desire for us.
The prophet Isaiah offers this imagery of what the Christian life is supposed to look like: 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. (Isaiah 40:31)
The dictionary definition of soaring is to travel great distances at a higher level; to continually move onward and upward; to rise to majestic stature.
When I think of a man who is soaring in his faith I think of a person whose life is marked by abiding peace and unending joy; who is completely dependent on God’s strength and not His own; who walks in confidence, assured that, no matter what comes His way, no matter what others say, he is deeply loved by God.
Using that definition, I can honestly say that I know only about five or six people who are soaring. There are many believers — me included — who may get airborne for a time, but our trajectory is not always onward and upward. We’re up then we’re down. We’re riding on the wings of faith one moment then grounded by adversity and uncertainty the next. We are flapping our wings but going nowhere.
So the question that begs an answer is this: If God intends for us to soar like eagles, why aren’t more of us soaring?
There are actually a number of things that can keep us grounded in our faith:
- Our past. There is no question that — for good or bad — we are shaped by our past. How we grew up, how we interacted with family, who we hung around with, choices we made years ago can still have a profound effect on our lives. But we cannot soar with confidence, peace, and joy in the present if we are consumed by the pain, remorse, and regret of the past.
- Shame. The words guilt and shame are often used interchangeably in our culture but they are very different. While guilt whispers that what we’ve done is bad, shame shouts that we are bad. At the core of shame is the warped belief that we are defective, flawed, unworthy, unacceptable.Truth is, we will never truly get close to God, we will never experience the depth of His peace, we will never soar like eagles when we are shrouded in shame.
- Fear. Studies have shown that the three most common fears people have are the fear of flying, the fear of public speaking, and the fear of heights. But none of those phobias will send us into a spiritual tailspin like a fear of failure, a fear of rejection, or a fear of intimacy.
We have all been created with the ability to soar like eagles. If we’re not soaring, we need to ask ourselves what’s keeping us grounded. If it’s not our past or shame or fear, perhaps it’s busyness. Or pride. Or unforgiveness. Or other people’s opinions. Or unconfessed sin. The burdens the enemy places on us come in many different forms, each unique to our personal makeup. But the devil’s ultimate goal is the same—to keep us grounded.
The good news is we have a God who is more powerful than the enemy. A God who promises to share His strength with us so that we can overcome whatever it is that would weigh us down.
Don’t be burdened for one more day. Trust in the Lord. And prepare for takeoff. It’s time to soar.
– By Dan Kuiper
Dan completed his initial Crucible weekend in 2009. He is an author and speaker whose passion is to help those looking for love, healing and grace in their lives to find it in relationship with the Heavenly Father. Dan’s first book, When Father is a Bad Word, illustrates the parallels between our relationship with our earthly father and our perception of our Heavenly Father. Follow Dan’s blogs on his website: findingfatherslove.com.
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