Daily Devotions
Mounting Up With Wings Like Eagles
Reading for December 23rd: 2 Peter 1-3
Weekly reading for December 20-26: Revelation 12-16
But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.
Revelation 12:14
I think about one of the final scenes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy when I read this verse. Frodo has destroyed the ring and he is lying on a rock on Mount Doom with lava flowing all around him. There is nowhere for Frodo and Sam to escape, and it appears they are going to die there. Then all of the sudden these giant eagles appear and swoop down to carry Frodo and Sam away to safety.
Have you ever found yourself in a helpless situation like that, wishing an eagle would just lift you up and take you away to a safe wilderness? Have you ever wondered if you, in the midst of all of your troubles, have been forgotten by God and left to suffer all alone? When you're feeling that way (and you may feel this way right now!) think about this verse in Revelation, and consider these words of comfort from the book of Isaiah:
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
and my right is disregarded by my God"?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for 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.
Isaiah 40:27-31
Father, when we are surrounded by the enemy and are feeling helpless and alone, remind us of your presence. Give us the assurance that you are there with us that we may endure and remain steadfast under trial.
