Eagle Life versus Chicken Life

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles.."Isaiah 40:31 My brother gave me permission to use whatever I wanted on his sermons. As I read this message I thought how interesting and thought provoking it was to learn more about the eagle. In this scripture God is showing us that we can’t depend upon man to deliver us but that we need to depend upon the Lord for help and strength to live the Christian life."They that wait upon the Lord..." (instead of on others or on ourselves) "...shall renew there strength and mount up with wings like eagles."He gives strength and power to His people and helps them by enabling them to help themselves. He will help the willing, those who, in humble dependence upon him, help themselves, and those who do their best. Look at God’s method of developing eagle type of Christians eagles. n the scriptures, God has likened His people to many things. For example, they are described as being like branches on a vine, trees by a river, lights on a hill, sheep, salt, runners in a race, wrestlers, soldiers, and as our text in Isaiah implies - eagles. Look at facts about the eagle's way of life, and from them, discover some spiritual truths that will aid us in becoming "God's Eagle Christians." Before we get into God’ s Eagles we need to realize the frailty of the human life. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: Isaiah 40:29-30 A time to be born, and a time to die. Ecclesiastes 3:2 From the time you took your first breath you began to die. The older I get it seems the faster time is going by. Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14 Man is only on a stage of life and the play is over before he knows it.We are called upon to live but one day at a time. The only absolutely sure prediction we can make is that most of our predications will be wrong. We do not know what the future holds but we do know who holds the future. As we live through this life that has been given to us by Almighty God we find that we are unable in our own selves to find strength to make it day after day. If we learn to wait on the Lord, He will give us power to make one day at a time. But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. God chose an eagle as the bird to symbolize the Christian. I'm really glad that it's the eagle and not one of the other birds that God chose to identify us with. He could have likened us to a variety of other birds if He had so desired, and rightly so, because we display many of their characteristics. Take the chicken for example. I know something about chickens. As a child, I remember the time when we had chickens. I'm glad God said we are to become like eagles and not chickens.Let me give you some chicken facts to show you why. Chickens are crowd followers. If a chicken sees a bunch of chickens running across the chicken yard, he will take off after them. It doesn't matter that he doesn't know where they are going or why they are going there. He follows along because he doesn't want to miss out on anything the majority is doing. Chickens just naturally squabble and fight over things in the chicken yard. If one finds a nice juicy bug to eat, suddenly they all want it. They will chase each other all over the chicken yard, trying to take it away from another. They are funny that way. They can walk all around a bug or a grasshopper and not pay any attention to it, but the moment one decides he wants it, at that moment, they all decide they want it and the chase is on. Chickens go through what is called molting time (losing their feathers). Many times when this happens other chickens peck them until they are all bloody. (Reminds me of some church folks.) They have no interest in the heavenlies. They are content to live in the chicken yard, walking around with their eyes on the ground, scratching in the dirt looking for something to eat. Most of them will never try to fly. They are earthbound birds. Oh, they will act like they want to fly but at the best they can only fly a little ways. I think you can see now why I'm convinced that living the chicken life can never compare to living the eagle life. Chicken living is so limited - so confining - so predictable and so boring. However, living the eagle life - that's another story.When we hear the word "eagle", our minds envision an eagle soaring in the atmosphere, effortlessly riding the wind currents high above the earth; majestic in appearance. He is king of the sky, master of his domain. With keenness of eye, he spies his prey and swooping down to earth with tremendous speed, and sharp strong talons set, it snatches up its meal and soars back to its nest to feast. Eagle Facts: Reach speeds of over 150 miles per hour Soar to heights of 1/2 miles Dive at speeds of 200 miles per hour Glide at altitudes of over 2,500 feet 7 foot wing span 12 pounds in weight Keen eye sight - can spot a rabbit at 2 miles 270 degree peripheral vision Acute depth perception It's strength enables it to carry well So many more facts are found about Eagles, but I don't want to make this too long. The interesting thing is how they teach the little eaglets to fly. First the mother eagle stirs up the babies nest. Takes all the cushion out of the nest. All they feel is sticks and pricks. (God has to stir our nest often.) Then the mother finally pushes the baby off the nest, watch as he flapps his little wings and sees him going down. She then spreads her big eagle wings, swoops right under that little scared baby and brings him to safety. Isn't that what the Lord does for us. We are flapping our wings, scared to death that we can't face tomorrow with all it's trials and burdens. When we are to the end of ourselves, the Lord swoops down with a bucket full of grace and assures us He is by our side. I am so thankful for His Grace.