Savage About Sobriety July 4, 2023

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. - Isaiah 40:31 (KJV).

Happy 4th of July everyone! America's 247th Birthday! The bald eagle has been a symbol of this country's freedom and strength for as long as the United States has existed. Even though the bald eagle has been the face of our country since before 1776, it didn't officially become the national bird until 1782.

I've been blessed to see many of these birds in my life. Most recently, while working at the Red Rock Lake in Iowa. Since April of this year, I have gotten to see several of these birds fly back and forth over the dam between the towns of Pella and Knoxville. There are countless species of birds at this lake, but the eagles are the ones that make a person stop what they are doing to appreciate the strength and beauty they possess.

At Red Rock Lake, the wind can make it hard for people to walk, much less work in the windy conditions. Typically, the wind blows 15-25 mph on normal days, 35-40 mph on extremely windy days. It's on the extremely windy days I have been the most amazed by the bald eagles. There won't be another species of bird in the sky, but the eagles will still be flying back and forth along the dam like it is business as usual for them. It's like they harness the wind and use it to make flying that much easier for themselves. They aren't struggling to stay airborne, or laboring to go in the direction they want to go in. They gracefully and majestically soar wherever they choose.

Seeing the eagles fly in high winds has made me think a lot about 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." - (KJV). I see the high winds as the struggles I face daily in my walk with God as a redeemed addict. These struggles take their toll on me and wear me out. Just like the wind at Red Rock Lake, my daily walk with God has days that are calm and other days that are a struggle to put one foot in front of the other. Some days, the winds I face in life make it to where I don't have the strength to go on. The winds seem to be blowing too hard and I'm not sure I can take a step, much less head in the direction God wants me to go. Like the other species of birds, I won't even try to fly those days. What's the point? It is too hard and the struggle just isn't worth the effort, is it?

When we draw our strength from God, we can soar through life like the eagles I've been watching at Red Rock Lake. Our strength gets tired, God's does not. When I've been putting too much trust in myself or getting too arrogant about how strong my walk is, the devil is waiting right there to tear me down and convince me that I can't do it. That the winds are just too strong and I should stay on the ground. But God tells us a different story.

Just before Isaiah wrote verse 31, he wrote these words in Isaiah 40:29, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." - (NIV). God wants to give us strength and He wants to give you more power when you're weak. These are the times when God's Power in our lives is a testimony to others that see us carry on. When we can't go on and life becomes too much, remember the words of Paul in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." - (KJV). When we tap into this kind of strength, the windy days will be business as usual for us, as well.