I’ve flown in air planes quite a bit in my life. Living right around the great lakes for much of my life, I most often flew out of Detroit and Chicago. As many can tell you who live in the area, there are a lot of cloudy days and many storms. In fact, as I write this, I’m looking out the window to another grey and rainy Michigan day, the same as it has been for the last two weeks.
Many of the days I would fly were not only cloudy like this one, but there would sometimes be rather extreme storms going on. At times, these storms got so bad that flights would be delayed. However, because of the major level of inconvenience to all, the airlines usually try to do all that they can in order to avoid delaying flights. For that reason, we would very often fly right through the storm!
In times like that, the day would usually be gloomy and dark. The skies above would be ominous, glaring down menacingly at the ground below. We, the passengers, would corral ourselves down the narrow walkways, loading ourselves one by one into this large metal enclosure, preparing to launch upward to the heavens and fly at hundreds of miles per hour to a far away destination.
With the skies overhead looking so gruesome, it is hard not to be reminded of the danger and sheer magnitude of the near physics-defying feat that we would be taking on. The roughness of the weather in the air reminded us of the death defying nature of what we were all about to do. Tying our fates together, we all would shuffle awkwardly down the narrow enclosure to board the plane, nervously smiling at one another when we’d catch a glance. In times like these, you could always spot the more experienced passengers. The expressions on the faces of those who flew all the time, usually including the flight attendants and the pilots, would also usually seem so care-free, smiling reassuringly at us as we entered the plane.
Inevitably, when we’d begin to take off in such conditions, the first part of the journey was a little frightening. Not only is it gloomy and dark, but things begin to get bumpy and turbulent. As you approach the dark clouds, looming overhead, the light through the windows grows darker and the sounds of thunder become louder and more violent. Lightning can sometimes be seen at close proximity, as you look out the small windows, questioning your decision to travel today. Suddenly, even atheists are rethinking their ideals!
What’s amazing about this journey is that, while the ride gets rougher and scarier as we draw nearer to the heart of the storm, there is be only a brief moment in passing through the worst of it. The most terrifying time is actually in the moment when you are literally inside of the storm.
In this place, your visibility is gone. You are in the heart of danger. By now, you’re gripping the arm rest and bracing yourself.
Yet, a mere moments later, you emerge and are suddenly flying above the clouds.
When you break through, not only is the danger beneath you, but even the gloom and depressing nature of the day itself suddenly dissipates and is gone. You see that the sun which you hadn’t seen all day was still there, shining brightly all along, and the storm beneath you looks like a beautiful moving painting. All feelings of danger are now replaced by a sense of sheer awe and wonder.
It has not been lost on me in these moments that in thousands of years and billions of people throughout many generations, we are the first few people who know what it feels like to look down on a storm from a place of total safety! What a humbling and incredible experience. And yet, what man had never understood or known for years, Eagles have been doing since the beginning.
Eagle Eye Vision
No bird on earth can fly higher than the eagle. An eagle can literally rise higher than the clouds and fly above the storm, and they’ve been doing it since the day they first took flight.
By God’s power, we can do the same when we encounter the storms in our own lives. Just as flight seemed like an impossible dream for man for thousands of years, your dreams or even just getting out of the storm may seem like an impossible dream. But this message is to remind you that all things are possible through Christ, who lifts us up with Wings of Eagles.
Sometimes God will take us through the storm. Sometimes He protects us in the eye of the storm. But there are also times where He will lift you up on Eagle’s Wings and carry you above the storm.
If you’re facing harrowing situations, if your life is in peril or danger, if there is an immediate threat, whatever your storm is, today, I agree with you in this prayer:
May the God of the Eagles lift you up on Eagle’s Wings and help you to fly above the storm of your circumstances.
Key Point
What is impossible to man is possible with God. Even a few hundred years ago, man said it was impossible to look down at a storm, yet now we do it in casual, passing glances, while we’re sipping our coffee and reading a book. Let Him lift you up, today, with Wings of Eagles.