8/1993 - Soaring with the Eagles

"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).

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).

But how can we soar like the eagles when our feet are mired in the earthly clay?

It is a great hope, but seems as unreachable as the heights to which the eagle soars. Would you believe that you have already attained it? If you are a child of God you have been doing just that from the moment of your salvation.

But I seem to be crawling through the mire. I don’t seem to be getting beyond my earthly circumstances. I don’t think I will ever be spiritual enough to attain this.

Such are the cries of the earthbound believers. So what is the answer? How can you say that we have already been soaring like the eagle? It is very simple. Whatever the circumstances that have kept you mired in the earthly clay, your spirit has continually mounted heavenward. The eagle soars by catching the currents. Every new gust that comes along catches his wings and he rises higher. Our spirits are just like that. Whatever the circumstances you have been through; whatever the sorrows, the heartaches, the distresses, the spirit always rises above them and holds onto Christ.

So then why am I discouraged, depressed, sometimes angry? Does that sound like the soaring eagle?

The answer lies in the understanding of the difference between the flesh and the spirit. You have met all of the earthly circumstances, and your spirit has risen above them. And that is why you still hold onto Christ. How you feel about your circumstances or how you feel about Christ in the midst of your circumstances are expressions of the flesh. And Paul admitted that he had no confidence in the flesh. How your flesh reacts to earthly circumstances is dependent upon a myriad of patterns in the brain which are the result of many factors and forces at work in your mind. Some people seem to maintain a high level and others plod through life with negative responses. That is not a matter of spirituality, it is a matter of brain function. It depends on so many factors—genetics, circumstances input from thousands of experiences that have gone to makeup the patterns of your mind. Many people have mental disorders that are the result of genetics or traumatic experiences. Whatever may be the possibilities of correcting these conditions, they certainly are not something that the individual can help. There is no guilt attached.

But doesn’t Christ overcome these things?

Well that is a very big issue. It belongs in the category of healing. Is everyone who is sick bound to be healed "if they have enough faith?" Does everyone who gets saved automatically have all of their personality problems altered? These are matters that belong to the human flesh and not to the spirit. It’s a lot simpler to trust the Lord for a plane ride if one doesn’t have acrophobia.

So one may be burdened in the flesh by many problems and yet, remaining with Christ, their wings have caught the currents and risen above them to remain with Christ. But, remember that remaining with Christ does not necessarily mean that one is feeling good about things.

So where does peace come in?

According to Paul, the peace of God "passes all understanding . . ." It keeps the heart and the mind from falling away from Christ, but does not necessarily keep one from human emotions. Paul himself was often in distress—"I despaired even of life." And again, "Without were fightings; within were fears." Nevertheless, in his spirit, he was strong. "Though our outward man perish, yet is our inward man renewed day by day" (II Corinthians 4:16). In the flesh, Paul was much battered by Satan—which caused him to cry out to God for deliverance. God did not choose to remove the thorn, but rather reminded Paul that His grace was sufficient for him and that his strength was made perfect in Paul’s weakness. Paul picked up on this and said that he would therefore accept his weaknesses that he might thus experience that power of God. Here is the ultimate in the soaring of the eagle. The distressing currents that were sent to trouble him became the currents that boar him ever higher on his eagle wings. However strong the currents, his spirit mounted over them. It is never the size of the problem that matters; it is the power of God. Nor is it our human feelings in the flesh that matter, it is the energizing power of Christ in our spirits.

But how do we achieve this? How do we connect with the energizing power of Christ?

We don’t "achieve it" or "connect with it." When we become saved—that is when we receive Christ into our spirits—He is there. His energy is always with us. We don’t have to "rise to spiritual heights." The Spirit is within us.

So how do we know this?

We know it because we want Christ to be there. We know it because we continually seek for Him in the midst of our troubles. Our very questioning is part of the confirmation of His presence. "Lord, why?" If He wasn’t in our spirits we would not even ask the question.

But what about my doubts?

If Christ were not with us, we wouldn’t bother to question Him. The truth of the matter is that we are inextricably involved with Christ. The grace of Christ surfaces in the midst of our troubles. But it is most important to remember that He does not give grace to think about things. When the time comes we will have the grace. It surfaces as surely as the problems come. We don’t have to "achieve it," but it is given to us on a daily basis. "Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof," says Jesus. In other words, you will not have more trouble on a given day than you can handle. The problem comes when we begin to wonder about the future. How long will the problem last? What is going to take place tomorrow? Sometimes we have to settle for the hour or for the moment. This moment we can handle; the next moment belongs to Christ. This was the core of Jesus’ teaching. "Take no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow will take thought for the things of itself." He did not mean thereby that we should not plan or give attention to our responsibilities. The word He uses is one which has to do with anxiety. "Do not be anxious about tomorrow." When the problem comes, the grace will surface with it. When the currents oppose, the wings will catch them and soar to greater heights. This is not something you have to do, it’s something that the energy of Christ within us does with us through our spirits. Nor must we expect more than is given us. The grace of Christ gives us the strength to continue and to stay in the storm. It is not a tranquilizer that shields from the problem. It does give us grace for the moment to know that Christ is with us and our lives are in His hand. We cannot reason our way to such peace. We do not have it because we believe this or that. It rises to the surface with the problem and continues as long as we need it. "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."