Ouch! Why Is My Nest so UNfluffy????

Just like Dennis, Bobby Ewing, a captivating Bible teacher I had the privilege of sitting under many times, loved to draw analogies from elements of creation to our spiritual lives. One of his favorite go-to creatures? None other than ye olde eagle.

Do you know, for example, how the eagle builds its nest? First, Mother and Father Eagle combine forces to construct their nest with sticks and similar type objects. Then, knowing that this creates an ouch-factor for their baby eaglets, they then line the nest with softer, more user-friendly materials such as lichen, feathers, and moss. The problem they run into, though, is that by making the nest so nice and cozy, their eaglets, just like some adult human offspring, are loathe to leave their comfortable environment. That's when Mama Eagle shows her mettle through tough love.

When the time comes that Mama Eagle knows her babies should leave the nest, Mama pulls off the nice soft material lining her babies' roost, leaving the prickly sticks and thorns exposed. Without that soft cushion, Baby Eaglets are so uncomfortable that they are more than ready to venture into the cold, cruel world.

While Mama will push her babies to the brink of the nest to make them venture forth, she does so in a way that shows this to be a disciplined training step, rather than an uncaring selfish gesture. As she encourages her babies to make that first decisive leap, Mama Eagle maintains on eagle-eye watch (what an appropriate adjective!) on each baby. If a baby's wings don't flap just right, she swoops gracefully under the eaglet in distress, catches it on her back, and returns it to the nest for another try. The process is repeated until each eaglet earns its flight wings and goes forth successfully.

Does the Bible relate eagles to people? You betcha! Speaking to Moses about how He had delivered His people from the Egyptians, God said, "I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself" (Exodus 19:4). God Himself made a comparison between how He delivered His people to how the eagle carries her babies.

Did God deliver His people from Egypt the moment they were thrust into slavery? No, He did it when "their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage" (Exodus 2:23). He did not deliver them until their lining (the privileges inherited from the favor Joseph had received from the Egyptians) was no more. When things got prickly, causing them to cry unto God, then He came to their rescue, swooping down unerringly and carrying them to safety on His back (Psalm 142:3).

Time and again we see in Scripture men of God who faced adverse circumstances (the removal of the comfy lining). Yet in the long run we can clearly see how that seemingly unfavorable situation was actually God-directed in order to bring about His higher purpose in their lives. Joseph was sold into slavery that in due season God could raise him up to save His people (Genesis 45:4-8). David had to hightail it from court to save his life. Yet, just as in the years when he was a shepherd, God used the years that David fled from Saul to develop not only his character but his understanding of how to lean on God for direction (Psalm 119:71). Elijah had to flee from the murderous Queen Jezebel, but at the end of that flight God revealed Himself to His prophet in a poignant, moving way as never before (1 Kings 19). Saul/Paul had to flee for his life after his conversion. He spent three years apart from everyone--time in which he grew in the Lord, an invaluable time of preparation equipping him for the exacting tasks God had for him (Acts 9:20-25). The persecution of the Christians in Acts (removal of the lining) caused them to be scattered throughout the world, taking the gospel with them (Acts 8:1). Can you see the wonderful things God wrought by removing the comfy things in these people's lives?

Like a missionary friend once told me, life is hard. Things come out of the blue that throw us for a loop. But, seeing these wonderful examples in Scripture, we can rest in the knowledge that hardship does not come by happenstance; no matter what we face, God is in control. There is nothing, nothing that can come into your life, as hard as it might be, that God will not use to further His kingdom and your knowledge of Him.

So, when your colleagues or bosses at work begin to give you grief, don't get all in a dither. Don't start questioning God's love for you or His seeming "absence" in your life. Rest instead in the knowledge that He, eagle-like, is preparing you for the flight ahead. Then, instead of fretting, ask, Samuel-like, "What would you have me do, Lord?" He just might be setting the stage for your most wonderful adventure ever!

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).