Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
I love the picture of the Believer being renewed by the Lord as he waits upon the Lord. Then, those renewed and refreshed saints will mount up, they are elevated above the mundane things of this world to live in heavenly places. As a part of that heavenly living here on earth, we are exhorted in Scripture to "set our affections (or our minds) on things above and not the things of the earth." We are taught that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. We read in the Bible that we war not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers in the spirit world. We are called to soar like the eagles!
Many years ago, I heard a powerful sermon by the great preacher and orator Ern Baxter. He talked about living in the exalted place in Christ above the dirty things of this earth. He described the life of the eagle. He told how the eagles don't live on telephone lines with crows who are noisy and loud. They don't lower themselves to being loud with gossip and carnal arguments. The don't eat dead animals on the side of the road because they live in a different realm. They only eat living things and not dead things. Then recently I was stunned by something I saw that felt like a prophetic moment. I passed by a dead animal on the side of the road and several buzzards were fighting and tearing at the dead filthy carcass. I drove a few blocks away and had to come back by the scene again on the way home. I was sickened by what I saw! A beautiful and majestic Bald Eagle was in the middle of the flock fighting to get a bite as he ate with the Buzzards! The Bald Eagle is a symbol of our Republic. I pondered over this for about 24 hours. At first I was shocked to see a Bald Eagle in our area of northeast Florida. Then I thought about the significance of the picture and our Nation. My mind raced back to January 6, 2021 and the riot at our Nation's capitol. I remember watching and weeping as rioters broke down the doors of democracy. I was hurt and embarrassed as I saw Jesus banners among the crowd. I wondered if the Church would ever again gain their evangelistic influence among the unconverted. Then I wondered what the average Christian at home felt. I hope it wasn't glee or success. Whatever motivated the rioters it was not the voice of Jesus. It did not come from the internal motivation of the Holy Spirit. It was a cry from the lower nature of man.
The commotion we heard and saw on our televisions that day was not the sound of liberty nor was it the sound of some Christian movement. It was the picture and sounds of members of a republic, our republic, leaving the realm of the heavenly to lower itself to eat with the buzzards. Our Nation fell that day from the lofty place as the guardian of the world to an earthy, dirty place of the mundane. May God forgive us. May we "wait upon Him." May we humble ourselves before him with repentance and broken hearts. Father, we ask humbly that you forgive and cleanse us for our love, enjoyment and participation in sinful and divisive activity that has lowered us far below your plan for our lives as a people. And please Heavenly Father, please elevate us once again to live in your presence and to be lifted up on wings of eagles.
