“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run much and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.”

These words in the book of the Prophet Isaiah have been especially significant to me for many years. I came across them for the first time shortly after becoming a Christian 25 years ago, and they caught my attention, because of the eagle metaphor.

Eagles have been my favorite animal from an early age. Childhood friends would list puppies and horses as their ideal representative of the animal kingdom, but my heart placed the king of all birds on top of the list.

It all started when my mom brought home an article about eagles when I was about 9 years old. She had seen it in a magazine and painstakingly copied it word by word on a sheet of notebook paper. I sat down beside her, curious about the content as she carefully unfolded the sheet. She then proceeded to dramatically read a beautiful story about an eagle in the face of adversity. I cannot recall the details but remember that the message captured my heart. When she finished, she folded the paper and handed it to me. Looking me in the eye, she held my hand and said:

“You are my eagle. Remember that. The sky is your limit. You can do anything and go anywhere, as long as you persevere and work hard.”

Ever since that day, I have collected eagle statues, eagle pictures, and eagle stories. I have watched the Eagle Cam at Berry College and named my ministry “Soaring with Him” – inspired by the timeless words in the 40th chapter of the book of Isaiah. It’s a borderline obsession.

For centuries, these majestic birds have fascinated and inspired humanity with their brilliant survival and leadership characteristics. The bald eagle is the symbol of our country, its image engraved in the national seal, certain flags and monuments. In some religions, high-soaring eagles are believed to touch the face of God. Mexican legend holds that the Aztecs so revered the bird that they built Tenochtitlan, their capital, at the spot where an eagle perched on a cactus.

While sharing a friend’s prayer request with my husband this morning, I remembered an aspect in the eagles’ makeup that sets them apart from other birds: the way they face storms.

If you were to see an area filled with birds when a storm approaches, you would see two distinct reactions between an eagle and all other feathered creatures. While other birds would try to flee or hide, eagles would take off, in the direction of the dark clouds. Fearlessly, the eagle would fly into the fierce winds, using the storm current to rise higher quickly. The pressure of the storm is used to help them glide without using their energy as their wings’ unique design allows them to lock in a fixed position amid the violent storm winds.

The eagle instinctively knows it: Just past the storm, in the high heavens, there is peace and security. It is the perfect hiding place.

[bctt tweet=”The eagle instinctively knows it: Just past the storm, in the high heavens, there is peace and security. It is the perfect hiding place.” username=”PatHolbrook”]

My friend is facing a storm which my husband and I know well. As she shared her struggles with me, I could hear the uncertainty, fear and confusion in her voice. “I thought I was doing God’s will.” “I don’t understand why the door will not open.” “Should we move? Should we change something?

”Oh, how well do I know the feeling!

Maybe you do too. You may have done everything, obeyed God and said yes to His direction, blindly trusting that He would come forth with the deliverance, provision or healing. Yet, months and sometimes years go by, and the storm does not seem to die down. You certainly do not seem to be rising above it either.

Can I encourage you today, dear reader? I soar “on wings like eagles,” joyfully and above some vicious, fierce storms.

Unemployment? Check. Cancer? Check. Betrayal? Check. Regardless, I can testify that God indeed used each storm to shake my faith so that fragments of unbelief would fall out. Then, as I courageously locked my wings, determined not to give up, He rose me up. Above each tempest… and in His time. Every.single.time.

Strength indeed comes to those who patiently and wholeheartedly trust in the Lord.

[bctt tweet=”God uses storms to shake our faith so that fragments of unbelief may fall out. As we courageously lock our wings, determined not to give up, He raises us up. Above each tempest… and in His time. ” username=”PatHolbrook”]

This article was originally published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday – August 3, 2019.