The Prophet Job once said to his three friends while describing his waiting time before the Lord, for his trial of faith to be completed:
“Now my days are swifter than a runner; They flee away, they see no good. They pass by like swift ships, Like an eagle swooping on its prey.”
Job 9:25-26 NKJV
Time flies so fast in the midst of what Job was going through. He was comparing his passing time while suffering in pain, with the swiftness of a person who is running in a race.
With other words he also compared his waiting days with the commercial ships, that are hurrying in the sea to deliver their goods to customers. He even went further by comparing those days with the swiftness of an eagle in flight on its prey.
Evidently Job was trying to make his friends not to be paying so much attention to his sufferings. He wanted them to understand that it would soon pass away.
It’s interesting to note here that he was comparing his suffering times, with the speed of an eagle in going after its prey. There is something spectacular here about the speed of an eagle in the air. It is truly a great sight to behold.
The scripture in the words of the Prophet Habakkuk described the ascension of the Babylonians to power in judging the Assyrians. He said:
“Their horses also are swifter than leopards, And fiercer than evening wolves. Their chargers charge ahead; Their cavalry comes from afar; They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.”
Habakkuk 1:8 NKJV
Here the swiftness of the Babylonians is being compared with that of an eagle for its food. I have personally been given the wonderful opportunity of seeing twice, this great sight of an eagle in action. And in each of those two occasions, it was the Lord who had directed them across my pathway.
I still remember seeing the bald eagle on each of those occasions in its magnificence and strength, while soaring with full speed in the air above my head. It was during a moment of prayer and intercession for the USA.
As I was praying in the spirit the bald eagle showed up over my head with the noise of excitement in the air. It was a sight that registered so powerfully to me.
The message from the Lord became clearer and more powerful about what I was praying about. The Lord was showing me that irrespective of what the enemy was doing to attack the United States of America, His word concerning the nation will still be fulfilled.
He was telling me that the nation is coming out stronger than ever before, through the attacks of the enemy; but in the strength of an eagle, that’s soaring with excitement in the air.
And secondly that the attack of the enemy has in fact given the nation, an opportunity to renew her strength.
The manner of an eagle in the air is amazing. In the Book of Proverbs, the Prophet Agur had said:
“There are three things which are too wonderful for me, Yes, four which I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the midst of the sea, And the way of a man with a virgin.”
Proverbs 30:18-19 NKJV
The Prophet had listed the way of an eagle in the air, as the first of the three things that were too wonderful for him to behold on the earth. Only the Almighty God can create such an amazing bird.
Now, if you have ever observed an eagle in the midst of a flight in the air. If you have ever seen it soaring with full speed in the air, you will be held speechless by the beauty of God’s creation in this great bird. It is an amazing thing to see. Nothing can survive by standing in its pathway.
Even the pilots of aircrafts are always watching out for the eagle while flying in the air. They don’t want to stay on its path, because an eagle in flight has the capability to cause an aircraft to crash, if there is a collusion with it in the air.
An aircraft is created naturally to fly in the air. Even if there is a problem with it, it will still fly, because it is created for that purpose. It’s just as your car will still drive, even if you have the headlights out.
But it’s however unfathomable to imagine that a bird like an eagle can bring down an airplane. It is a bird with an amazing strength, whenever it’s soaring in the air.
The strength of an eagle in the air can be measured by its speed. Even though an average old eagle weighs between eight to fourteen pounds; but whenever it’s flying in the air you can easily feel the impact of its strength.
It’s like the energy from a bullet that has just been discharged through the muzzle of a handgun. An eagle doesn’t make a lot of noise in its flight, but the impact in strength can cause a serious damage to anything in its pathway.
As another example, we are not supposed to be driving beyond the speed limits, which are displayed on the roads. The speed limit is there to protect us from accidents while we are driving. But if you are driving beyond the speed limit all the time, you are creating a risk factor that may be catastrophic in nature.
However, an eagle in the air is not limited by any means in doing anything at all. It has no one to regulate its flight in the air for it. It is the king of all the other birds in the air. It is not restricted by anything or any human law from flying anywhere that it wants to go.
Shed off the old weighty claws
The speed of an eagle in the air is an aggregate of everything that has to do with the spread of its wings, the strength and stretch of its feet, the eyesight, the posture of its head with the beak in the air, and the weight of its claws.
The scriptures commands us as Christians:
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
The shedding of weight is not only confined to the great old eagle alone. We as Christians do have weights in our lives, that may be hindering us from running the Christian race. Weights are not necessarily sinful; but they are habits of our lives that can become a hindrance in advancing the Kingdom of God, because they bring no spiritual benefit into our lives.
Such things may hinder the flow of the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the life of any minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They can prevent the flow of the anointing to save the lost, heal the sick and deliver the captives.
The scriptures clearly state above that we are supposed to lay such things aside. The most effective way of doing this is by setting our eyes on Jesus Christ alone. He is the One Who is leading us in the race that’s set before us. If you are not focusing on Him, but on those weighty issues, you will become ineffective in the calling of God over your life.
It’s the same thing in the life of an eagle with weighty claws. It has to shed the weight away on the mountain top. The old weighty claws have to be removed, after which the eagle has to wait for the new claws to emerge on its feet.
Overall, the body mass of an eagle plays an important role in its ability to do what it does in the air. It has to be balanced in the air with all things being taken into consideration on its body.
Being overweight can become a hindrance in the air to an eagle. It can prevent it from being able to soar effectively. It can also endanger an eagle during its hunting activities for food. Such a thing is not worth taking a risk with. The weight has to be shed.
There is a difference in the air between an eagle with a healthy set of legs and lightly weight claws, in comparison with an injured eagle in the leg, or one with weighty claws. You can easily detect the absence of balance in the air with an unhealthy bird.
That’s why an eagle often decides to go through the process of renewing its strength in seclusion. After the beak has been restored and renewed, the eagle goes through the process of getting rid of the old weighty claws.
The old claws have to be removed forcefully by hitting its feet on a hard surface or rock. The new beak is also available to help the eagle in getting rid of the old weighty claws.
It is after this that the old eagle has to start waiting for the new claws to emerge. The heavy old claws had become ineffective for the eagle in doing what it used to do with it.
New claws emerge by standing firmly
A new set of claws is symbolic of the firmness in strength for the eagle. While waiting for a new set of claws to grow, an eagle will often test the strength and firmness of its legs, by standing on top of a rock or hard surface on the mountain top. It will put pressure on the legs to see how much pressure, it’s able to take from the hardness of the rock.
This type of physical exercise is necessary for the eagle, to be able to maintain a good and healthy stamina to stay alive. If an eagle can do such things to prolong its life, then we as Christians can do far better in prolonging our lives on the earth. Spiritual exercise is good; but there is profitability in physical exercises also.
The legs and the claws of an eagle are connected to one another. There has to be a synchronization of both of them, in reflecting a healthy balance for the great bird in the air.
That’s why the legs with the new set of claws have to be tested for effectiveness on the rock, before launching out into the air again.
The claws of an eagle are used for maintaining a firm grip while standing on the rock or hard surfaces. They are also used for taking hold of the preys during its hunting activities. The claws are also used for maintaining gravity in the air while soaring.
In maintaining a spiritual balance, any child of God needs a firm grip on the promises of God, that he or she is standing on. God’s promises must not be allowed to slip away from our eyes and our mouth.
By declaring it even when it seems as if nothing is changing in the physical, we are doing what an eagle does as it is standing firmly on the rock.
The Psalmist says:
“Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle—”
Psalms 144:1 NKJV
The Lord Jesus Christ is our Rock as believers in His name. As long as we are focused on Him with our attention so as to listen, in doing whatever He commands us, we will always walk in victory over the enemy.
He is the One Who teaches us how to do spiritual warfare. No battle can be won against the enemy, without the Lord teaching us how to fight in it.
That’s why the Apostle Paul said:
“Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 AMP
If you are standing firm in your faith, do it in a healthy and sound manner. Be disciplined by exhibiting spiritual maturity in handling the word of God. Your spiritual strength is measured by the way you are standing on God’s promises, until they come to pass for you.
A renewed strength comes from within, as the believer in Christ Jesus cries aloud under distress, with the prayer of faith, not with despondency before the Lord. When we are applying pressure on God’s promises to be fulfilled, our spiritual strength is being renewed.
Moses told the children of Israel before his departure from them, about the sandals of their feet as they were marching into the promised land:
“Your sandals shall be iron and bronze; As your days, so shall your strength be.”
Deuteronomy 33:25 NKJV
Our ability to stand firmly on God’s promises prolongs our days on the earth. Spiritual strength gives us physical strength.
When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, He saw no sin or wickedness in her. The wickedness of Israel came as she began to mingle with the other nations around her.
Our life as Christians is like this also. God sees your innocence in Christ and the sincerity of your heart to follow Him, when you got saved. It’s your association with the wickedness of this world in which you are living, that has taken your innocence in Christ Jesus away from you.
The King of kings (Jesus) lives on the inside of you still; but the wickedness of the world around you have deprived you of the ability to walk in kingly strength on the earth.
Whenever God has a conquering work for his people to do, he will furnish them with the strength and ability for it from His presence. An eagle that has been waiting for the renewal of its strength is waiting for the same purpose, so as to be able to do new things.
A Christian who is waiting for the renewal of spiritual strength, needs to be standing firmly before the Lord with his confession of faith. There is no room before the Father for sloppiness.
A soldier in the army of Jesus has nothing to do with the unrighteous deeds of this world, from where a sloppy attitude towards God’s promises comes.
Paul said to Timothy:
“You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.”
II Timothy 2:3-4 NKJV
That’s why Timothy was commanded again:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. O (Brethren) Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—”
I Timothy 6:12, 20 NKJV
Just as the eagle uses the claws to fight, the believer in Christ uses his hand and every part of his body also in spiritual warfare. David said of the Lord God:
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Psalms 18:32-34 NKJV
In taking your stand as a soldier for Christ in spiritual warfare you are to:
“Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
Ephesians 6:13-14 NKJV
This is how we are to be standing while waiting in God’s presence, for His word to come to pass – with your feet ready with swiftness in obeying the Lord. On what are you standing in the declaration of your faith?
The eventual spiritual reach of your words with the profession of God’s promises, depends really on what you are standing on by faith. It depends on Who you are depending on.
If Christ is the Rock upon which you are standing; then watch how you are standing on Him as your Rock. If you need to correct your spiritual posture, it’s better to do it while in His presence. Doing it out of His presence will make you vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.
Watch how you are standing and keep on standing firmly on His promises. You will inherit every one of them if you don’t give up:
“How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!””
Isaiah 52:7 NKJV
Welcome to your strong and beautiful feet with the good news.
