Laela
Sidestepping the "lynch mob"
Monday, February 9th, 2015
Mary Welchel
There are several things we can learn from eagles about soaring in a storm.
Eagles and Storms
Eagles deal differently with an approaching storm than other birds. Instead of flying away, an eagle will stay perched on his nest until he feels the first rain drops. Then he launches flight from his lofty home, using the strong winds that accompany the storm to take him higher and higher until he sees the sunlight beams around him and the storm clouds beneath. The eagle has no ability to stop the storm, but he has the ability to fly above the storm.
The Storms of Our Lives
Jesus told us up front to expect storms, and he also told us how to react to them:
John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
“You will have trouble.” It’s guaranteed. The Christian life is not an escape hatch from trouble. “But take heart!” Jesus reminds us. “Take heart, be encouraged, because I have overcome the world.” We may honestly ask, what good does it do me in my troubled world to know that Jesus has overcome the world?
Here’s how: We who are born again by his power are “in Jesus.” Colossians 3:3 tells us “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Since we are in him, we are able to take heart and be encouraged, even in the midst of trouble, because we don’t have to weather the storm; Jesus does it for us. We are in him, and he has overcome the world and its trouble.
Being “in Jesus” gets us through our storms. He is our protection and all we have to do—all we can do—is to relax “in him” and enjoy the safety that he provides. He won this safety for us when he overcame death and sin and the grave. He rose again to demonstrate his victory over trouble. He rules over the storms of our lives. He is a shelter in the time of storm.
Remember, you are equipped to soar above the storms and turn that adversity into an advantage.
Mary Welchel
There are several things we can learn from eagles about soaring in a storm.
Eagles and Storms
Eagles deal differently with an approaching storm than other birds. Instead of flying away, an eagle will stay perched on his nest until he feels the first rain drops. Then he launches flight from his lofty home, using the strong winds that accompany the storm to take him higher and higher until he sees the sunlight beams around him and the storm clouds beneath. The eagle has no ability to stop the storm, but he has the ability to fly above the storm.
The Storms of Our Lives
Jesus told us up front to expect storms, and he also told us how to react to them:
John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
“You will have trouble.” It’s guaranteed. The Christian life is not an escape hatch from trouble. “But take heart!” Jesus reminds us. “Take heart, be encouraged, because I have overcome the world.” We may honestly ask, what good does it do me in my troubled world to know that Jesus has overcome the world?
Here’s how: We who are born again by his power are “in Jesus.” Colossians 3:3 tells us “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Since we are in him, we are able to take heart and be encouraged, even in the midst of trouble, because we don’t have to weather the storm; Jesus does it for us. We are in him, and he has overcome the world and its trouble.
Being “in Jesus” gets us through our storms. He is our protection and all we have to do—all we can do—is to relax “in him” and enjoy the safety that he provides. He won this safety for us when he overcame death and sin and the grave. He rose again to demonstrate his victory over trouble. He rules over the storms of our lives. He is a shelter in the time of storm.
Remember, you are equipped to soar above the storms and turn that adversity into an advantage.