What kind of wings does your faith have?
What kind of wings does your faith have? Does your faith have the kind of wings that cause you to want to fly away from the difficulties that life brings? Or does your faith have the kind of wings that cause you to trust in God, and rise up in faith with Him, in order to soar through the winds of difficulty that life brings our way?
It was March 8th of this year that I had just left a meeting with someone who I thought had cared about me and my family. This meeting turned out to be a disaster for me, that left me shell-shocked in disbelief, while at the same time feeling painfully let down and extremely disappointed in the horrible way that this person had acted. I remember leaving Starbucks that sunny Tuesday morning, getting into my SUV, and pulling out of the parking lot into the deepest, and darkest valley I had ever had to face in my ministry up to that point. I travelled over to the Sports Park and cried out to the Lord for help and for strength all morning long, while at the same time wondering where in the world God was at in my life at that moment. I can assure you, I wanted to run far away from the situation I was put in.
After spending a couple hours in prayer I drove home to get my wife. We live in Harveston, and as I pulled into the Harveston community I was feeling overwhelmed with despair, and I wanted to fly away from all of the troubles I was now facing. And as I was driving up to the Lake in Harveston, I saw two birds flying away from me in the opposite direction over the lake. In that moment it was as if the Lord was powerfully impressing upon my heart Psalm 55:5-8.
In Psalm 55:5 King David reveals to us how he was feeling one day because of the enormous difficulties he was facing in life at that time. David said;
"Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me."
This is exactly where I was at in that moment in time. I was overwhelmed with fearfulness, and anxiety, and I was literally trembling inside. David would go on to say:
"Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. Indeed, I would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest."
It was in that moment of brief but perfect clarity that God showed me that those two birds that were flapping their wings as fast and as hard as they could in order to fly across the length of the lake, were symbolic of me in that very moment. Because if I had the ability I would have taken flight that very moment and flown away with them!
Have you ever been in that place before? Have you ever been so overwhelmed by the pressures that life throws upon you, or so discouraged by what you are facing that you wish you could simply fly far away from your troubles?
It is when our lives are filled with fear, overcome by set-backs, halted by obstacles, and crushed beneath the enormous pressure that the difficulties of life place upon us. It is when people are against us, and when people we trust let us down. It is when the valleys are the darkest, and the mountains seem the tallest that we are tempted to give up on God, and try to get through it in our own strength.
In the book Agape Leadership, written about one of my heroes of the faith, R.C. Chapman, he was quoted as saying, "If we act only because our path is clear of difficulty, this is not faith. Faith acts upon God's Word whatever the difficulty; and to walk by faith brings highest glory to God."
I know for me that the trial I was thrown into for several months because of one individuals actions, caused me to want to fly away from the situation in my own strength. But God in His goodness met me there in my time of great need.
What situation in life are you facing right now that is causing you to want to fly away from your troubles, and get through in your own strength apart from God? I can't emphasize to you enough, that God doesn't want me or you running away from our troubles, nor facing our difficulties in our own strength. The Bible is quite clear that God wants us to rely upon His strength to get us through the difficulties of life, in much the same way that an Eagle moves through the air.
The Bible tells us in Isaiah 40:28-31;
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young man shall utterly fall. BUT THOSE who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like Eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
I want to ask you this question again. What kind of wings does your faith have today? Does your faith have the wings of a dove, the kind of wings that cause you to want to fly away from the difficulties that life brings? Or does your faith have the wings of an Eagle, the kind of wings that cause you to trust in God, and rise up in faith with Him, in order to soar through the winds of difficulty that life brings our way?
When we consider what a dove looks like as it flies away we picture it working hard, and using lots of energy to flap its wings. By the time a dove gets to its destination, it is in need of rest because of how hard it has to work when it flies. This is how we look when we try to escape from our troubles, and do things on our own apart from God. It is an exhausting and difficult undertaking to face life's difficulties apart from God.
An Eagle on the other hand, makes very little effort to soar through the majestic skies. It simply spreads out its wings and trusts in the wind to raise it up, high above even the highest mountain peaks. And this is what we look like, when in faith we spread out our wings, and trust in God to give us strength to face the difficulties that life throws at us.
It is my prayer that we will be men and women who claim the promises of God and fully trust in Him, so that we will not allow the winds of difficulty to cripple our faith any longer. Whether this means we continue traveling boldly down a path in life that is filled with enormous difficulties, or shining like a light in the valleys of darkness, or overcoming with love the people who deeply hurt us. Whatever troubles you are facing right now, or whatever troubles life may bring to you in the future, may you trust in God and allow Him to strengthen you and raise you up with wings like Eagles.
