Eagles are awesome and stately creatures to watch. They gracefully soar across the broad, open sky above the earthbound creatures below. Oh, the grace and strength and peace that they seem to convey. It is as if they have no worries or cares of their own, isn’t it?
But put an eagle in a lake, and it is no longer flying gracefully overhead but is desperately flapping its wings, attempting to gain some control. The longer it struggles in the water the more tired and weary it gets…sometimes eventually giving up…longing for its freedom in the air.
Which environment do you suppose the eagle will be most fulfilled in? The most free to live to its potential? The air or the water? Well, obviously, in the air, the eagle has freedom to fly high or low, fast or slow. In the air, it can see all around in order to protect its young and to collect its food and build its home. The eagle lives most freely in the air. The environment in which it was made to live in.
Our Creator made us to live within particular protective boundaries in order to fulfill that purpose and attain that freedom for which we long.
Similarly, we Christians were specially made with a particular design and purpose by our Maker. Our Creator made us to live within particular protective boundaries in order to fulfill that purpose and attain that freedom for which we long. Within His expressed plan for us, He enables us to soar through life, as an eagle in the air.
I’d love to be able to fly through life so that I, too, could feel free from my worries and cares. I’d love to be free to experience new heights, have exciting adventures, attempt amazing feats. To be like a bird, one would even have the option of not only flying with reckless abandon at times but to fly away from trouble or to fly to a place of rest and peace.
But sometimes I choose to swim in the water, so to speak, just because I have that choice or because someone has dared me to try something new and different. After I have made that choice then I wonder why I’m not happy or content or at peace with my life. I desire more and more and more but never find what I’m looking for. When I choose to live away from His intended purpose and function, I will flounder like the eagle in water…just trying to survive. ..or, put another way, like a fish out of water.
The Psalmist exclaimed his desire for freedom when he said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest” (Psalm 55:6). He felt trapped and wanted a way out.
How do I know that I am choosing to live in freedom rather than in bondage?
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; so keep standing firm and do not subject yourself again to a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1.
Isaiah 40:41 says “Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up (fly) with wings like eagles…”
I choose to live in freedom when I wait for the Lord…when I listen to His voice…when I honor His boundaries. In His time and His plan, I will be able to mount up with wings like eagles. Soaring above my circumstances. Strong and free as God intended for me to be.
Lord, show me which of my life choices actually put me in bondage rather than give me freedom to live a full rich life! Then, Lord, help me to choose to fly like an eagle, not swim like one.
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FEATURED RESOURCE
Romans: Find Freedom
by Zondervan Corp.
God made us to run, jump, dance, and celebrate absolute freedom. Yet too often we feel bound by past failures, sin, and guilt. What will it take for the shackles to fall to the ground? Where can we find a freedom that no one can ever take away? In the book of Romans, God points you to the path of freedom. You will discover an inexhaustible, heavenly power to break the chains that bind you. You'll find forgiveness for all moral failures, a new future where all things are made right, and the joy of living in community with God's people. In Romans, you will walk the road of freedom that will set you truly free!
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