Eagles' Wings

Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint.

At times like this, it is easy to feel overwhelmed.  Where is sanity?  Leadership?  Salvation?  Where is God?  Why does He let us do these things to each other?  We all long for Peace.  We all pray for Justice.  This young man who (appears to have) assassinated Charlie Kirk will face Justice.  I pray for his soul.  And I pray that Charlie’s wife and children, and all of us, can bring something positive out of this terrible tragedy.  

I love this clip from Chariots of Fire, with the Olympics going in full glory and Liddell saying, “the nations are as a drop in the bucket” and “he brings the princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing”.  

I am skeptical that this (or anything else) will suddenly bring us to our collective senses.  All around I hear Christians saying, “If only we would revert to being a Christian nation again, fearing God and worshipping Him.”  Of course I agree that would bring about the oft cited “City on a Hill”, a nation to be proud to be a part of and admired around the world.  But the reality is, there is no magic wand, no prayer, no religious leader, no mandate from the White House or anywhere or anyone else who can suddenly bring the people of this nation to our collective knees.  Only God can do that.  

Does He want a revival?  Or are we entering the Last Days, where “the love of many will grow cold”?  I am highly suspicious of the message being preached by many churches today, one of judgmentalism and bigotry that leaves behind Jesus’ warning against hypocrisy, caring for the widows, orphans and downtrodden (see Matthew 25, sheep and goats).  

I am, however, completely confident that God is in control.  He allows us our Free Will.  But His Plan will be accomplished.  And while it may seem like God is absent, silent or uncaring, nothing could be further from the truth.  The nations are a drop in the bucket. The people are like grass (Isaiah 40:6). But God will lift us up on eagles' wings.

God’s “Peace that passes all understanding”, I believe, comes when we trust in His Plan even when we don’t understand.  We wait on the Lord.  We cry out, “How long, Lord?”  And in the meantime, we love one another as He loves us.  One person at a time, whether or not we agree with their politics, are of the same race, understand or agree with their religion.  

If I have any practical advice on how to make your life better, and by extension, ripple out into the world, it is this.  Get off social media.  Turn off the News.  Connect with the person in front of you and, by the Grace of God, be the Light of the World, the Salt of the Earth to him or her.  That is enough for today.  And then do it again tomorrow.