STIRRING UP THE NEST

Isaiah 40:31 reads, "But 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..."

We've all heard the word "nesting" but have we ever taken a close look at true nesting in action? This is neat. When a mother eagle starts building her nest, she begins using items we wouldn't at all expect for such a job -- sharp thorns, broken branches, rocks.

Later, she places on top of it a layer of wool, feathers, and fur from animals she has killed, making it soft and comfortable for her eggs.

Her eggs eventually hatch and her little ones grow to flying age. As with any creature, growing up is never an easy thing. That's precisely when mom begins "stirring up the nest."

With her strong talons, she begins pulling up the thick carpet of fur and feathers, bringing the sharp rocks and branches to the surface.

As more of the bedding gets plucked up, the nest becomes more uncomfortable for the young eagles. Eventually, this and other urgings prompt the little eagles to leave their once-comfortable abode and move on to bigger and better things like learning to fly and eventually making homes and families for themselves.

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It would be an easy things to get a little too comfortable in our "nests"? We've had all the warmth, comfort and free meals we could want... but all good things come to better things... "with the Lord"! The "nest" is warm and snuggly...

but it's time we learned to fly!

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Let's not be bitter at the Lord for "plucking up" our "comfortable nests". He wants us to be all that we can be! He wants us to accomplish all the things He has for us to do -- to reach our fullest potential -- to experience the amazing sensation of flying, even soaring, high above our problems and issues

and whatever other distractions

hold us back from growing up in Him.

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There are times when we allow the trials and tests of this world to overcome us... and to "ground us" from "flight"... but we must do all we can to set our minds on God and to throw off any hindrance that would

attempt to "bring us down".

Let's take the leap of faith today. There's so much work to be done!

THE PATH TO LIFE ETERNAL

A while back, I heard someone say that they wished they could go back to a time years ago to a "spiritual experience" which greatly affected their life. Their desire was to feel the thrilling touch of God's Holy Spirit... to sense His "nearness" again... and to return to being the person they were at that moment.

As Believers, can we go back... or is the life of a Believer always looking ahead... going forward?

Would I want to go back to being a teenager again, thinking and responding to life as a teenager?

Would I want to go back to twenty or thirty? I think not.

While it is true that my experiences in life have made me who I am today, I want to go on with the Lord, growing... maturing... and becoming more useful to Him. I want it to be evident in my life that I have learned from life's experiences. I hope to go on to the "next grade level" and not find it necessary to "repeat the courses" I have taken before.

Am I satisfied with my relationship with the Lord? Never! There is no "Status quo" with God. Either I am growing, maturing, and going forward in my walk, or I have lost momentum... and I am headed in the wrong direction.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
I press toward the goal for the prize
of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." ( Phil. 3:13,14)

Lord, teach us Your ways... and lead us in Your truth everlasting. Forgive our sins... and show us where we have missed Your will for our lives. Help us to keep our feet on the path to life eternal with You. Amen

(The photo is of my son-in-law Tommy and two of my "grands"... taken by their talented mother Samantha.)