What an incredible journey. What a roller coaster of emotions. What support. I never in a million years could picture myself in a situation like I am in now. The reality is.. most of us don’t. We’re like our own majestic eagle soaring above it all.. Oh we ALL have problems.. just take a moment to read your identity on facebook or instagram from a different perspective one day.. but that’s another story for another day….
I spoke about rest recently and now I am learning more. What is the pause button? If you know me at all I am a 110 MPH person.. I function at a high altitude swooping when needed and soaring high again.
But what happens when you clip the wing of an eagle? What happens to the song? What happens to the gaze over the open sky, where nothing can stop you?
Sometimes it happens.
I’ve seen something new about an old scripture.. I always saw myself as a soaring eagle.. but let’s read it again:
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.
That majestic eagle has nothing under it’s own power.. clip a wing and it’s down, crush a beak and it’s song is forever changed….. The pause button.
I wrestle with much. I am a flawed man. I have made the most embarrassing of mistakes anyone could ever make, I have hurt people I have loved dearly and the hard part is, I will make mistakes again.
It is what we do during the times of a clipped wing that make a difference. Oh.. we can retreat.. raise the flag… bury your head in the sand.. OR.. find a new song. Figure out a new way to fly. That doesn’t always mean running away from.. it means running to…..
Over the past few years family has been re-identified to me in ways that has been revolutionary. Through discipleship and my journey with Christ we have found family on mission. It may not make sense to some, but neither does clipping the wing of a perfectly good eagle. The outpouring of thousands is overwhelmingly humbling. If you’ve never understood family the way the bible describes it.. I’d love to share what I’ve learned with you over the past few years anytime…..
Back to the scripture:
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.
BUT THOSE WHO TRUST IN THE LORD.. not your wings.. not your song, not your ability, not what you do, not where you live, not how you should be heard, not how everyone should just get you.. BUT.. those who trust/wait on the Lord will FIND new strength. Can you use that?
I can!
When your place of identity is no longer in your wings, your trust is no longer that you can carry yourself soaring at 10000 feet alone, but it can ONLY come from Him… THEN..
you will soar on wings LIKE eagles.. then your run is not to run away, but to run to.. then you don’t get lost in the pain, misery and defeat, you get renewed. When the sprint gets hard.. you CAN WALK and not faint.
I’ve thrown a lot at you today.. I will pause there.. what song are you singing today.. same old one?
Love to hear some feedback.
#Godsgotthis
Wow Matt! You are a very talented writer.
This was so beautifully written. I have found that through difficult times as well as those mountain top moments, my song continually changes. I admit that sometimes I get complacent with my song…. the records not broken. .. it sounds good. …. why change it. But I have learned that through the process of my branches being pruned…my mountaintop moments… my kairos moments, that my song must change. The lyrics begin to flow like poetry. There’s clarity, more passion, more meaning. So I add my new songs to my catalog of old songs so that I can look back and be thankful for the songs that I were given and continually given.
Very eloquently written, old friend.
It brought tears to my eyes.
This is very inspiring. The trick is to find the lesson in the trial. And you,my friend, have found it.
This is such a Blessing and so true! You are going through a storm in your life, but yet you are flying higher than a eagle. Your Faith, Love ,and Power that you have inside of you is Amazing! That’s why I know you are going to go Through The Storm! You have Inspired and Encouraged us all more then you will ever know. Gods Got This! No Doubt! Thank you my Brother, I Love You! You could have both your wings clipped and I can picture you singing and flying through the storm speaking to it to "bring it on… Is that all you got"! You are one Strong and Powerful Man of God!
I believe that you are still soaring Matt. The vistas and the horizons have changed for you. The old is past the new has come- and with the new, new challenges and opportunities to trust in God and rest in God and soar with God. The process is never easy.
I’ve been thinking about what you said about Isaiah 40:31. I love the verses before verse 31:
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak
We like to think that we are the eagles, flying and soaring. But, it seems to me that God is the eagle and sometimes he has us soaring, other times running, or maybe only walking. But, He is the one who is the strength, He is the one soaring, not us. God refers to himself as the eagle in Exodus 19 with Moses and the Israelites and again in Deut. 32:11. It is a beautiful picture of His love, protection, and nurturing care for His people.
When I was younger, I thought that life was a race. Go, go, go, get things done, soar. But, when my life began to know brokenness, rejection, death, and pain, soaring took another shape. When I have fallen on my face (literally) to God in despair, I have seen Him work in me in a way that has redefined who He is to me. And, it has been far better than what I knew of Him before. I can think of specific moments of brokenness in my life and I know that because I had no more strength left in me, God was the only strength I had and it was those moments that God was soaring for me.
I don’t know or understand what God is doing through you and the cancer that has invaded your body. But, I do know that when I have been at my worst, God has been at His best whether I recognized it or not. Even though you do not feel like you are soaring right now, I’m certain that God is soaring for you.
Thank you for asking me to give my thoughts on these verses. It has been helpful to me to process some stuff that I’ve been talking to God about. I hope that somehow it is helpful to you too.