Isaiah 40:31 says - They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.
This is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It assures me of the fact that no matter how weak I get, my God is always by my side to renew my strength. But then, I often wondered why the Word had to use the illustration of an eagle. I mean, what's the connection between the 'renewal of strength' and the 'eagle'???
Actually one of my friends answered this question … just a part of it to be precise … she said that after a certain point in its life, an eagle goes to the top of a very high mountain and sheds all its feathers and gets new ones … there by referring to the renewal of strength.
Although this was good enough, I wasn't very convinced … I ran a search on the eagle and what I found was quite interesting. The eagle, a bird that is so strong and majestic, a bird which has the power to spot its prey from a great height and has the nack of being able to tear it apart in a second, actually comes to a point where it just waits ... waits for something to happen …
Most of us are like that eagle … we are strong in spirituality and pretty majestic in faith but then there is a time when we reach a point where we just stand still ... we are uncertain of where to go next … but then the Word of God tells us that in times like these, we need to be still and know that He is God. We need to 'wait upon the Lord'.
After the eagle reaches that point, it flies up to a mountain peak and 'waits' … while it waits, the eagle begins to shed its feathers starting from the head and going downwards … it takes almost six months for the eagle to get its new set of feathers … and all through this time, the eagle 'Waits'.
I felt that this really made sense with respect to you and I as children of God. When we've reached that point where we have no idea as to where we're heading, it is then that we need to 'wait' … wait on the Lord … wait for Him to do something and He will … He will renew us, starting from the head - that is the renewal of the mind … then going downwards to the renewal of your body - that is the renewal of your 'self'... the renewal of 'who you are'.
It takes about 6 months for the eagle to completely renew its strength … it gets renewed step-by-step, in stages, over a period of time.
When we wait on the Lord, we too renew our strength but one step at a time; in stages … probably that's why the term 'wait' …
Once the eagle renews its strength, there is no looking back for it … it soars higher up in the sky and is more accurate when it comes to catching its prey. It flies with a greater zest and does not tire easily!
