One of the most popular scriptures Christians cite to encourage brethren who appear to be weary, hopeless and impatient is Isaiah 40:31.
“But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint”.
Many who preach about this verse focus on what is meant by ‘waiting’ and the fruits of waiting While these are important, I believe that there are other nuggets contained in this verse that add to its value. One such nugget is the eagle wings.
Wings are associated with flying – most animals and objects that have wings can elevate their bodies into the air.
Our human bodies do not have wings and therefore we cannot fly. However, in the scripture God promises that after renewing the strength of those who wait on Him, they shall mount up with wings like eagles.
- They shall mount up (increase, ascend)
- WITH wings.
God doesn’t just want you to increase and/or ascend without a mechanism that will keep you mounted. He wants you to continue flying and flying higher and therefore your increase is accompanied by wings.
But not just any wings…those of an eagle!
The eagle is a soaring bird. The unique design of its wings enables it to both fly and soar unlike most birds that can only fly. Why is this detail important?
I think one of the reasons God mounts us up with eagle wings is to teach us energy management. Those who want to sustain their God-given elevation need to learn how to manage their energy like an eagle. You need to know when to fly and when to soar.
Eagles have large wings, and it takes a lot of energy to flap large wings, so eagles prefer to soar because soaring requires less power. Eagles primarily flap their wings during take-off and during acceleration when catching prey.
Life is filled with so many things that require our energy. Many times, we invest a large amount of energy on things and events, we could have simply soared over. We flap our wings at insignificant things that end up tiring us and causing us to descend because we ran out of energy.
You do not have the wings of an ordinary bird – you do not have to keep flapping your wings to stay afloat. You have eagle wings – when you flap, you flap for a purpose!
Yours are big wings because you have big dreams. You make game-changing moves. You take life-changing decisions. Your perspective shatters old-age narratives.
Constant flapping (as if we are high on Redbull) is what makes us weak and powerless (Isaiah 40: 29) in the first place – learn to soar!
Lorato Mokwena 