Eagles

At 6:00am Sunday morning, I woke up and decided I was going shooting. No, not that kind of shooting :)

I like to try my hand at a bit of photography and the day before, Rinna and I had seen a pair of Eagles down at the weir, so I couldn’t resist the urge to take my camera down to get that perfect shot.

Do you know how hard it is to actually take a good picture of an eagle? Firstly, if its just sitting on a tree it looks quite boring, you need that gliding action shot to get anything remotely good. And then, if its in the air, its so high above you that any normal camera captures a tiny speck in the air.

But today, I came prepared. I had my zoom lens on the camera, I had my walking shoes on, I was in the right location, all I had to do was wait for that perfect opportunity. So I waited, and waited, and waited. They were there, I didn’t have to look very far, but they were just sitting on telephone wires. Watching the fishermen try in vain to catch fish. They just sat there, for aaaaaages! So I decided to pray. After all, God created eagles, he invented flying, surely he could give them a bit of a nudge for me? Well, what do you know, it worked! One took off and flew away into the distance. Oh, that wasn’t really what I had in mind!

I could still see him however, flying high above the water and over the hills surrounding the river. So I prayed again! But I suddenly realized something. Even though I had all the right gear, and I was in the right location, it wasn’t going to do me any good cause I wasn’t standing in the right place. See, I was standing on the side of the hill. Even if the eagle did fly back over the river I would be shooting right into the sun, and would only get a side shot anyway. I needed to be standing in the place that would make the best shot, have my camera turned on and then wait.

One of my favourite verses from the Bible says ..."They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall rise up with wings as eagles"...another version says ..."Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles"...

Do you ever feel weary? Like you have done all you can but it still isnt making any difference? And maybe you’ve prayed but still nothing is changing in your circumstances? That verse above says that even the most energetic of us get tired and weary, and even the fittest of us stumble and fall. So what is it that makes the difference? It’s the waiting, in the right place. its stepping out, in the confident hope that you have in our awesome God, that he will lift you and carry you. that’s the right place to be. Not on the hillside looking out to try and find that what you are searching for, but to come before God, admitting that you cant do it without Him, and waiting, resting in him, knowing you can trust him and he will be your strength until he leads you out. And its at this time that you can soar, without effort, above the feelings and circumstances and truly experience the joy of knowing him and having a real relationship with God.

Well, I walked down as far as I could down onto the weir and I waited. For quite some time. but as I watched the eagle soaring above the trees, he turned and glided over to the river. I had my camera on, I was in the right place, I had prayed!, and he circled above me for about a minute while I took as many photos as I liked! Oh it was so amazing!!!

The pictures weren’t crystal clear (next time ill need a bigger zoom lens!), but you could even see him looking at me and tilting his head to look closer as he circled around. All I did was come prepared, stand in the right spot and wait.

By the way, I had the right spot because I knew from before...

Isaiah 40:28-31
"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

You can trust Him. Just stand there, and keep your eyes up
and you can experience this for yourself...