Wednesday, August 7, 2002
The more opportunity I have had to spend time with our Native American friends, the more fascinated I have become with eagles. See, where I lived in New Jersey, the only eagles we see are the ones from Philadelphia that the New York Giants play in football. But spending time on reservations, we have seen a lot of eagles and learned a lot about them. Of course, the big show is watching an eagle soar through the sky. But sometimes you have to wait a while before he does. See, the eagle may just sit there for quite a while. He's actually waiting until he feels the wind that he needs to ride on. Eagles have this amazing instinct to sense the current and go with it. And they won't move until they sense that wind that will carry them to the clouds.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Sensing the Current."
Now, it's the eagle that God uses to describe how you and I can soar even when we're weary or weak. He talks about it in our word for today from the Word of God in Isaiah 40:31. "Those who wait on the Lord will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Now, why can the eagle soar so high and so effortlessly for so long? Because he waits to see where the wind is blowing and he goes with it. That's exactly how you and I are to make our decisions and make our plans - waiting to see where the wind of God is blowing in this particular situation and then going with it. Now, it's interesting that the Hebrew word used for "Spirit" in the Old Testament is also the word for "wind." And the same is true for the Greek word "pneuma" in the New Testament. We fly longer, we fly farther when we wait for... when we catch the wind of where the Spirit of God is going.
But the hard part in all of this is that dreaded word "wait." Especially for us "make it happen," action-oriented, strong-willed types. If God doesn't seem to be giving us clear guidance or things don't seem to be moving, we just take off, we furiously flap our wings, determined to get things moving somehow. We've got to do something, right? Anything! But God said that you have to be like the eagle if you want to soar - if you want His way - you have to wait until you sense where the current of God is going.
That's what Paul did when the Ephesian believers asked him why he was going to Jerusalem where his life was in danger. He said, "Compelled by the Spirit, I am going." (Acts 20:20) God's current is moving toward Jerusalem and that's where I have to go. Earlier, when Paul thought he was going to Troas to launch church planting in Asia Minor, he stopped in his tracks because the Spirit-wind was changing direction - and he ended up soaring into Europe with the Gospel. For 2,000 years, the best of God's servants have been flexible, "turnable," seeking the Spirit's direction instead of pushing ahead stubbornly or impatiently on their own.
So, stop flapping your wings for a while today and sit back to sense the current of God. Where is He going in your church? Where is He going in your ministry, in your area, in your career? Where is He going in your child's life, or your spouse's life? Where's He going in today's 'to do' list? Let God invite you to join Him in what He is doing instead of you trying to get Him to join you in what you're doing. Wait for Him in prayer. Let Him open the doors. Let Him change the hearts and meet the need, provide that relationship.
Start to develop the instincts of the eagle - to sense where the Creator's current is blowing. Then you can be carried by the powerful wind of the Holy Spirit instead of forcing and driving and rushing all by yourself.